Removal of naphthalene and phenanthrene using aerobic membrane bioreactor

The removal of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by membrane bioreactor (MBR) under aerobic conditions had been studied using naphthalene (NAP) and phenanthrene (PHE) as model compounds. Three MBRs with submerged ultra-filtration hollow fiber membranes were operated applying different operational conditions during 6.5 months. Complete NAP and PHE removal was obtained applying loads of 7 gNAP kgTSS^?1 day^?1 and 0.5 gPHE kgTSS^?1 day^?1, while the organic loading rate was adjusted to 0.26 kgCOD kgTSS^?1 day^?1, with the biomass concentration being 6000 mgTSS L^?1, the hydraulic retention time (HRT) 8 h and the solids retention time (SRT) 30 days. Load increases, as well as HRT and SRT reductions, affected the NAP and PHE removals. Biodegradation was found to be the major NAP and PHE removal mechanism. There was no NAP accumulation in the biomass. Low PHE quantities remain sorbed in the biomass and the contribution of the sorption in the removal of this compound was estimated to be less than 0.01 %. The volatilization does not contribute to the PHE removal in MBRs, but the contribution of NAP volatilization can reach up to 0.6 % when HRT of 8 h is applied.     

Phylogenetic diversification of immunoglobulin genes and the antibody repertoire

Immunoglobulins are encoded by a large multigene system that undergoes somatic rearrangement and additional genetic change during the development of immunoglobulin-producing cells. Inducible antibody and antibody-like responses are found in all vertebrates. However, immunoglobulin possessing disulfide-bonded heavy and light chains and domain-type organization has been described only in representatives of the jawed vertebrates. High degrees of nucleotide and predicted amino acid sequence identity are evident when the segmental elements that constitute the immunoglobulin gene loci in phylogenetically divergent vertebrates are compared. However, the organization of gene loci and the manner in which the independent elements recombine (and diversify) vary markedly among different taxa. One striking pattern of gene organization is the "cluster type" that appears to be restricted to the chondrichthyes (cartilaginous fishes) and limits segmental rearrangement to closely linked elements. This type of gene organization is associated with both heavy- and light-chain gene loci. In some cases, the clusters are "joined" or "partially joined" in the germ line, in effect predetermining or partially predetermining, respectively, the encoded specificities (the assumption being that these are expressed) of the individual loci. By relating the sequences of transcribed gene products to their respective germ-line genes, it is evident that, in some cases, joined-type genes are expressed. This raises a question about the existence and/or nature of allelic exclusion in these species. The extensive variation in gene organization found throughout the vertebrate species may relate directly to the role of intersegmental (V<==>D<==>J) distances in the commitment of the individual antibody-producing cell to a particular genetic specificity. Thus, the evolution of this locus, perhaps more so than that of others, may reflect the interrelationships between genetic organization and function.      

Titanium and iron titanium oxide nanoparticles in antennae of the migratory ant <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pachycondyla marginata</Emphasis>: an alternative magnetic sensor for magnetoreception?

The most accepted hypothesis of magnetoreception for social insects is the ferromagnetic hypothesis which assumes the presence of magnetic material as a sensor coupled to sensitive structures that transmit the geomagnetic field information to the nervous system. As magnetite is the most common magnetic material observed in living beings, it has been suggested as basic constituent of the magnetoreception system. Antennae and head have been pointed as possible magnetosensor organs in social insects as ants, bees and termites. Samples of three antenna joints: head-scape, scape-pedicel and pedicel-third segment joints were embedded in epoxi resin, ultrathin sectioned and analyzed by transmission electron microscopy. Selected area electron diffraction patterns and X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy were obtained to identify the nanoparticle compound. Besides iron oxides, for the first time, nanoparticles containing titanium have been identified surrounded by tissue in the antennae of ants. Given their dimension and related magnetic characteristics, these nanoparticles are discussed as being part of the magnetosensor system.     

Substitutions at the opening of the Rubisco central solvent channel affect holoenzyme stability and CO2/O2 specificity but not activation by Rubisco activase

Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco) catalyzes the initial step of carbon metabolism in photosynthesis. The holoenzyme comprises eight large subunits, arranged as a tetramer of dimers around a central solvent channel that defines a fourfold axis of symmetry, and eight small subunits, arranged as two tetramers at the poles of the axis. The phylogenetically divergent small-subunit loops between β-strands A and B form the entrance to the solvent channel. In the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, Ile-58 from each of the four small-subunit βA–βB loops defines the minimal diameter of the channel opening. To understand the role of the central solvent channel in Rubisco function, directed mutagenesis and transformation of Chlamydomonas were employed to replace Ile-58 with Ala, Lys, Glu, Trp, or three Trp residues (I58W3) to close the entrance to the channel. The I58E, I58K, and I58W substitutions caused only small decreases in photosynthetic growth at 25 and 35 °C, whereas I58W3 had a substantial effect at both temperatures. The mutant enzymes had decreased carboxylation rates, but the I58W3 enzyme had decreases in both carboxylation and CO₂/O₂ specificity. The I58E, I58W, and I58W3 enzymes were inactivated at lower temperatures than wild-type Rubisco, and were degraded at slower rates under oxidative stress. However, these mutant enzymes were activated by Rubisco activase at normal rates, indicating that the structural transition required for carboxylation is not affected by altering the solvent channel opening. Structural dynamics alone may not be responsible for these distant effects on the Rubisco active site.     

Further Thymol Derivatives from Ageratina cylindrica

From the leaves of Ageratina cylindrica, in addition to the described [(2S)‐2‐{4‐formyl‐5‐hydroxy‐2‐[(2‐methylpropanoyl)oxy]phenyl}oxiran‐2‐yl]methyl benzoate (cylindrinol A, 8 ), seven new thymol derivatives were isolated and named cylindrinols B – H ( 1 – 7 ). The structures of these compounds were established as (2‐{4‐(hydroxymethyl)‐2‐[(2‐methylpropanoyl)oxy]phenyl}oxiran‐2‐yl)methyl benzoate ( 1 ), (2‐{4‐formyl‐2‐[(2‐methylpropanoyl)oxy]phenyl}oxiran‐2‐yl)methyl benzoate ( 2 ), (2‐{4‐[(acetyloxy)methyl]‐2‐[(2‐methylpropanoyl)oxy]phenyl}oxiran‐2‐yl)methyl benzoate ( 3 ), [2‐(2‐[(2‐methylpropanoyl)oxy]‐4‐{[(2‐methylpropanoyl)oxy]methyl}phenyl)oxiran‐2‐yl]methyl benzoate ( 4 ), [2‐(5‐hydroxy‐2‐[(2‐methylpropanoyl)oxy]‐4‐{[(2‐methylpropanoyl)oxy]methyl}phenyl)oxiran‐2‐yl]methyl benzoate ( 5 ), 2‐{4‐(hydroxymethyl)‐2‐[(2‐methylpropanoyl)oxy]phenyl}prop‐2‐en‐1‐yl benzoate ( 6 ), and 2‐hydroxy‐2‐[2‐hydroxy‐4‐(hydroxymethyl)‐phenyl]‐3‐[(2‐methylpropanoyl)oxy]propyl benzoate ( 7 ), by spectroscopic means. Compounds 1 showed moderate antiprotozoal activity on both protozoa. Compounds 4 and 5 showed selectivity on Giardia lamblia trophozoites. All isolated compounds were less active than two antiprotozoal drugs, metronidazole and emetine, used as positive controls. Compound 5 exhibited a high inhibitory effect on hyperpropulsive movement of the small intestine in rats; its effect was best than loperamide, antidiarrheal drug used as a positive control.     

Expansion and divergence of the GH locus between spider monkey and chimpanzee

Growth hormone (GH) has been previously described as showing distinct evolutionary stories between primates and other mammals. A burst of changes and successive amplification events took place in the primate lineage giving rise to a multigene family in the three Anthropoidea lineages. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to obtain the genes and the intergenic regions comprising the GH loci of the spider monkey (Ateles geoffroyi), a New-World primate, and of the chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes), an ape. The intergenic sequences of both species were screened by hybridization to detect copies of the Alu family, which have been implicated in the formation of the human GH locus. The GH locus of the spider monkey contains at least six GH-related genes, four of them were cloned. Likewise, five short intergenic sequences of approximately 3 kb were amplified and cloned. On the other hand, in the chimpanzee four new placental lactogen (PL) genes as well as four intergenic regions were amplified. Consequently, in this ape, six genes (two GHs, previously obtained, and four PLs) are clustered, separated by intergenic sequences of different lengths (two short ones of about 5 kb, and at least two long ones between 9 and 13 kb). The presence of Alu sequences within the intergenic regions of both GH loci corroborates the current hypothesis that they acted as a driving force for the locus expansion. GH sequence comparisons reveal that several gene-conversion events might have occurred during the formation of this genome region, which has undergone independent evolution in the three Anthropoidea branches. To establish the GH's evolutionary history may prove to be a difficult task due to these gene-conversion events.     

What can we learn from noncoding regions of similarity between genomes?

Background  

In addition to known protein-coding genes, large amounts of apparently non-coding sequence are conserved between the human and mouse genomes. It seems reasonable to assume that these conserved regions are more likely to contain functional elements than less-conserved portions of the genome.     

Citrus pollen retention by adult Helicoverpa zea (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) after exposure to citrus blooms

In previous migration studies, the presence of citrus pollen on adult Helicoverpa zea (Boddie), in conjunction with synoptic weather systems and 72-h backtrack trajectories, were used to identify source zones of migrants. However, data are lacking regarding the retention of citrus pollen for 72-h by H. zea adults. We exposed laboratory-reared and feral H. zea adults to citrus blooms for a 12-h period in laboratory and field studies and examined insects for the external presence of citrus pollen (i.e., marking) at 12-h intervals through 72 h. Citrus pollen marking was higher for females than males at the time of removal from citrus blooms. Fifteen to 100% of H. zea adults were marked with citrus pollen at 72 h after removal from citrus blooms. Pollen loads ranged from rare (< or = 10 pollen grains) to moderate (101 to 500 grains) during 1995; only rare and light (11 to 100 grains) pollen loads were detected during 1996. Citrus pollen marking of H. zea adults through 72 h after removal from citrus blooms has not been previously confirmed. These data provide evidence of H. zea using available blooming citrus groves in the absence of a host crop and will impact current perspectives regarding H. zea and host plant interactions and timing of pest management tactics.