Mysterious bio-duck sound attributed to the Antarctic minke whale (Balaenoptera bonaerensis)

For decades, the bio-duck sound has been recorded in the Southern Ocean, but the animal producing it has remained a mystery. Heard mainly during austral winter in the Southern Ocean, this ubiquitous sound has been recorded in Antarctic waters and contemporaneously off the Australian west coast. Here, we present conclusive evidence that the bio-duck sound is produced by Antarctic minke whales (Balaenoptera bonaerensis). We analysed data from multi-sensor acoustic recording tags that included intense bio-duck sounds as well as singular downsweeps that have previously been attributed to this species. This finding allows the interpretation of a wealth of long-term acoustic recordings for this previously acoustically concealed species, which will improve our understanding of the distribution, abundance and behaviour of Antarctic minke whales. This is critical information for a species that inhabits a difficult to access sea-ice environment that is changing rapidly in some regions and has been the subject of contentious lethal sampling efforts and ongoing international legal action.     

Protein threading by recursive dynamic programming.

We present the recursive dynamic programming (RDP) method for the threading approach to three-dimensional protein structure prediction. RDP is based on the divide-and-conquer paradigm and maps the protein sequence whose backbone structure is to be found (the protein target) onto the known backbone structure of a model protein (the protein template) in a stepwise fashion, a technique that is similar to computing local alignments but utilising different cost functions. We begin by mapping parts of the target onto the template that show statistically significant similarity with the template sequence. After mapping, the template structure is modified in order to account for the mapped target residues. Then significant similarities between the yet unmapped parts of the target and the modified template are searched, and the resulting segments of the target are mapped onto the template. This recursive process of identifying segments in the target to be mapped onto the template and modifying the template is continued until no significant similarities between the remaining parts of target and template are found. Those parts which are left unmapped by the procedure are interpreted as gaps.The RDP method is robust in the sense that different local alignment methods can be used, several alternatives of mapping parts of the target onto the template can be handled and compared in the process, and the cost functions can be dynamically adapted to biological needs.Our computer experiments show that the RDP procedure is efficient and effective. We can thread a typical protein sequence against a database of 887 template domains in about 12 hours even on a low-cost workstation (SUN Ultra 5). In statistical evaluations on databases of known protein structures, RDP significantly outperforms competing methods. RDP has been especially valuable in providing accurate alignments for modeling active sites of proteins.RDP is part of the ToPLign system (GMD Toolbox for protein alignment) and can be accessed via the WWW independently or in concert with other ToPLign tools at http://cartan.gmd.de/ToPLign.html.     

What shapes giant hogweed invasion? Answers from a spatio-temporal model integrating multiscale monitoring data

In this study we simulated the invasion of Heracleum mantegazzianum with a spatiotemporal model that combined a life-cycle matrix model with mechanistic local and corridor dispersal and a stochastic long-distance dispersal in a cellular automaton. The model was applied to the habitat configuration and invader distribution of eight 1?km2 study areas. Comparing the simulations with monitoring data collected over 7?years (2002?C2009) yielded a modelling efficiency of 0.94. We tested the significance of different mechanisms of invasion by omitting or modifying single model components one at a time. Thus we found that the extent of H. mantegazzianum invasion at landscape level depends on both landscape-scale processes and local processes which control recruitment success and population density. Limiting recruitment success (100????30?%) and successionally decreasing the carrying capacity of habitats (max????0) over 30?years significantly improved the projections of the invasion at the landscape level. Local dispersal reached farther than 10?m, i.e. farther than previously assumed, but appeared to be unaffected by wind directions. Long-distance dispersal together with local dispersal dominated the invasion quantitatively. Dispersal through corridors accounted for less invasive spread. Its importance, with respect to invasion speed (number of colonised model grid cells) is probably limited over short periods of time (7?years). Only dispersal along rivers made a significant quantitative contribution to invasion of H. mantegazzianum. We suggest that biotic heterogeneity of suitable habitats is responsible for varying invasion success and that successionally increasing competition leads to declining population densities of H. mantegazzianum over several decades slowing down the spread on the landscape scale.     

Leucyl-leucine methyl ester treatment of donor cells permits establishment of immunocompetent parent----F1 chimeras that are selectively tolerant of host alloantigens

Treatment of murine lymphocytes with L-leucyl-L-leucine methyl ester (Leu-Leu-OMe) selectively removes natural killer cells, cytotoxic T lymphocyte precursors, and the capacity to cause lethal graft-vs-host disease, whereas bone marrow stem cell function and alloantigen-induced L3T4+ T helper function remains intact. The present studies assess the immunocompetence of allogeneic bone marrow chimeras established by reconstituting irradiated (C57BL/6 X DBA/2)F1 (B6D2F1) mice with Leu-Leu-OMe-treated C57BL/6 (B6) bone marrow and spleen cells. Spleen cells from such chimeras were found to have normal B and T cell mitogenic responses. Furthermore, levels of natural-killer cell function were comparable to those observed in B6----B6 syngeneic radiation chimeras established without Leu-Leu-OMe treatment of donor cells. Spleen cells from B6----B6D2F1 mice were identical with B6----B6 or B6 mice in allostimulatory capacity and thus contained no discernible cells of non-H-2b phenotype. Whereas B6----B6D2F1 spleen cells demonstrated alloproliferative and allocytotoxic responses toward H-2k bearing spleen cells, no H-2d specific proliferative or cytotoxic responses could be elicited. B6----B6D2F1 spleen cells did not suppress the generation of anti-H-2d or anti-H-2k proliferative or cytotoxic responses from control B6 spleen cells. Furthermore, addition of rat concanavalin A supernatants did not reconstitute anti-H-2d responses of B6----B6D2F1 chimeric spleen cells. Thus, Leu-Leu-OMe treatment of B6 donor cells not only prevents lethal graft-vs-host disease, but also permits establishment of long-lived parent----F1 chimeras that are selectively tolerant of host H-2 disparate alloantigens, but fully immunocompetent with respect to natural killer cell function, B and T cell mitogenesis, and anti-third party alloresponsiveness.     

Structure of the precursor to an enzyme mediating COOH-terminal amidation in peptide biosynthesis

Many bioactive peptides terminate with an amino acid alpha-amide at their COOH terminus. The enzyme responsible for this essential posttranslational modification is known as peptidyl-glycine alpha-amidating monooxygenase or PAM. We identified cDNAs encoding the enzyme by using antibodies to screen a bovine intermediate pituitary lambda gt11 expression library. Antibodies to a beta-galactosidase/PAM fusion protein removed PAM activity from bovine pituitary homogenates. The 108,207 dalton protein predicted by the complete cDNA is approximately twice the size of purified PAM. An NH2-terminal signal sequence and short propeptide precede the NH2 terminus of purified PAM. The sequences of several PAM cyanogen bromide peptides were localized in the NH2-terminal half of the predicted protein. The cDNA encodes an additional 430 amino acid intragranular domain followed by a putative membrane spanning domain and a hydrophilic cytoplasmic domain. The forms of PAM purified from bovine neurointermediate pituitary may be generated by endoproteolytic cleavage at a subset of the 10 pairs of basic amino acids in the precursor. High levels of PAM mRNA were found in bovine pituitary and cerebral cortex. In corticotropic tumor cells, levels of PAM mRNA and pro-ACTH/endorphin mRNA were regulated in parallel by glucocorticoids and CRF.