Responses to moisture stress in male and female plants of Rumex acetosella L. (Polygonaceae)

Summary Male and female plants of Rumex acetosella were grown on a moisture gradient to measure possible differences in the drought tolerance of the sexes. The growth of both sexes declined under water stress but males were significantly more drought tolerant. This could not be explained by greater water use efficiency in the male plants; measured rates of both photosynthesis and leaf conductance did not differ significantly between the sexes. Multiple discriminant analysis showed that the sexes differed at all moisture regimes in their overall patterns of biomass allocation. Males had proportionately greater investment in root and leaf tissue which could explain their growth advantage over females under water stress. Despite essentially equal water use efficiencies, on a per plant basis males, with more leaf and root biomass, could fix more carbon and more rapidly exploit the local water resource than females. Thus the pattern of biomass allocation rather than intrinsic physiological differences appears to explain the greater drought tolerance of male plants of Rumex acetosella.     

Dictyocaulus viviparus: Migration in agar of larvae subjected to a variety of physicochemical exposures

Dictyocaulus viviparus larvae were exposed to ox bile and CO₂ at intervals during their cultivation to the infective stage. Preinfective and young infective larvae were stimulated by CO₂. Bile slightly inhibited preinfective larvae, but stimulated the infective stage. Old coiled, resting infective larvae were stimulated by bile down to a concentration of 10 ppm of bile dry matter, by vertebrate biles of pig, sheep, newborn calf, cow, guinea pig, dog, and chicken, as well as by defatted bile dry matter and by glyco-, tauro-, glycodeoxy-, and taurodeoxycholates. Continuous bile exposure appeared necessary to maintain high larval activity. A high pCO₂ as well as a low redox potential potentiated the effect of bile, but had no effect alone. Exposure to pepsin-HCl and to trypsin had only a minor stimulatory effect.     

Alpha 2-C10 adrenergic receptors expressed in rat 1 fibroblasts can regulate both adenylylcyclase and phospholipase D-mediated hydrolysis of phosphatidylcholine by interacting with pertussis toxin-sensitive guanine nucleotide-binding proteins.

The alpha 2-C10 adrenergic receptor from human platelets was expressed permanently in Rat-1 fibroblasts. A series of clones that varied in expression of the receptor from 0 to 3.5 pmol/mg of membrane protein were isolated. We have demonstrated recently in cells of one of these clones (1C) that the alpha 2-C10 receptor interacts directly with two distinct pertussis toxin-sensitive G-proteins, Gi2 and Gi3 (Milligan, G., Carr, C., Gould, G. W., Mullaney, I., and Lavan, B.E. (1991) J. Biol. Chem. 266, 6447-6455). High affinity GTPase activity in membranes of cells from the various clones was stimulated by the addition of the alpha 2-adrenergic agonist UK14304, defining that the receptor coupled productively to the G-protein signaling system. Maximal stimulation of high affinity GTPase activity correlated with the levels of receptor expressed. Clones expressing the receptor also demonstrated agonist-mediated inhibition of adenylylcyclase. Futhermore, the alpha 2-C10 receptor in one clone (1C), but not other clones, promoted a marked stimulation in the generation of water-soluble products derived from phosphatidylcholine. The concentration of UK14304 required to produce half-maximal regulation of GTPase activity (20-30 nM), of forskolin-amplified adenylylcyclase activity (30-40 nM), and of choline generation (30-40 nM) were similar. Transphosphatidylation experiments with cells of clone 1C indicated that the receptor-mediated hydrolysis of phosphatidylcholine was via the action of a phospholipase D. All of these effects were attenuated by pretreatment of the cells with pertussis toxin. Dose-effect curves of pertussis toxin-treatment demonstrated similar effective concentrations of the toxin in causing endogenous ADP-ribosylation of both Gi2 and Gi3, inhibition of receptor-stimulated GTPase activity, and phospholipase D activity. Receptor activation of phospholipase D activity was not dependent upon prior phospholipase C-dependent activation of protein kinase C, as alpha 2-adrenergic stimulation of inositol phosphate production was negligible and the presence of the selective protein kinase C inhibitor RO-31-8220, at concentrations up to 10 microM, had no effect on UK14304-mediated production of phosphatidylbutanol. These results demonstrate that expression of the alpha 2-C10 receptor in a heterologous system can result in receptor regulation of signaling elements that appear not to be primary targets for the receptor in vivo. Such results are important in respect to recent observations that transfection of a single defined receptor into separate cell lines can lead to the regulation of distinct effector systems (Vallar, L., Muca, C., Magni, M., Albert, P., Bunzow, J., Meldolesi, J. and Civelli, O. (1990) J. Biol. Chem. 265, 10320-10326).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)     

Cystine accumulation in cystinotic fibroblasts from free and protein-linked cystine but not cysteine

The accumulation of cystine in cystinotic fibroblasts from free and protein-linked cystine has been investigated. Cystine is not accumulated from cysteine but is readily accumulated from cystine. The accumulation from free cystine does not occur as a result of pinocytosis or from the degradation of a rapidly metabolized protein pool. Further studies of the degradation of disulphide-containing proteins by these cells may aid understanding of the mechanisms of proteolysis.     

Phylogenetics and taxonomy of the New World leafy spurges,Euphorbia section Tithymalus (Euphorbiaceae)

The 480 species of leafy spurges, Euphorbia subgenus Esula, represent the main temperate radiation in the large genus Euphorbia. This group is distributed primarily in temperate Eurasia, but with smaller, disjunct centres of diversity in the mountains of the Old World tropics, in temperate southern Africa and in the New World. The majority of New World diversity (32 species) occurs in a single section, section Tithymalus. We analysed sequences of the nrITS and plastid ndhF, trnH‐psbA, trnS‐trnG and trnD‐trnT regions to reconstruct the phylogeny of section Tithymalus and to examine the origins and diversification of the species native to the New World. Our results indicate that the New World species of section Tithymalus form a clade that is sister to the widespread, weedy E. peplus. The New World species fall into two primary groups: a ‘northern annual clade’ from eastern North America and a diverse clade of both annual and perennial species that is divided into three subgroups. Within the second group, there is a small ‘southern annual clade’ from Texas and northern Mexico, a perennial ‘Brachycera clade’ from the western United States and northern Mexico, and a perennial ‘Esuliformis clade’ from montane areas of Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and the Caribbean island of Hispaniola. Ancestral state reconstructions indicate that the annual habit probably evolved in the ancestor of E. peplus and the New World clade, with a subsequent reversal to the perennial habit. In conjunction with this phylogenetic framework, the New World species of section Tithymalus are comprehensively reviewed. © 2014 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 2014, 175 , 191–228.     

Efficacy of Indolicidin,Cecropin A (1-7)-Melittin (CAMA) and Their Combination Against Biofilm-Forming Multidrug-Resistant Enteroaggregative Escherichia coli

The present study examined the anti-biofilm efficacy of two short-chain antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), namely, indolicidin and cecropin A (1-7)-melittin (CAMA) against biofilm-forming multidrug-resistant enteroaggregative Escherichia coli (MDR-EAEC) isolates. The typical EAEC isolates re-validated by PCR and confirmed using HEp-2 cell adherence assay was subjected to antibiotic susceptibility testing to confirm its MDR status. The biofilm-forming ability of MDR-EAEC isolates was assessed by Congo red binding, microtitre plate assays and hydrophobicity index; broth microdilution technique was employed to determine minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) and minimum biofilm eradication concentrations (MBECs). The obtained MIC and MBEC values for both AMPs were evaluated alone and in combination against MDR-EAEC biofilms using crystal violet (CV) staining and confocal microscopy-based live/dead cell quantification methods. All the three MDR-EAEC strains revealed weak to strong biofilm-forming ability and were found to be electron-donating and weakly electron-accepting (hydrophobicity index). Also, highly significant (P < 0.001) time-dependent hydrodynamic growth of the three MDR-EAEC strains was observed at 48 h of incubation in Dulbecco’s modified Eagle’s medium (DMEM) containing 0.45% D-glucose. AMPs and their combination were able to inhibit the initial biofilm formation at 24 h and 48 h as evidenced by CV staining and confocal quantification. Further, the application of AMPs (individually and combination) against the preformed MDR-EAEC biofilms resulted in highly significant eradication (P < 0.001) at 24 h post treatment. However, significant differences were not observed between AMP treatments (individually or in combination). The AMPs seem to be an effective candidates for further investigations such as safety, stability and appropriate biofilm-forming MDR-EAEC animal models.

     

Social networks based on frequency of roost cohabitation do not reflect association rates of Myotis lucifugus within their roosts

Bats are a group of mammals well known for forming dynamic social groups. Studies of bat social structures are often based upon the frequency at which bats occupy the same roosts because observing bats directly is not always possible. However, it is not always clear how closely bats occupying the same roost associate with each other, obscuring whether associations result from social relationships or factors such as shared preferences for roosts. Our goal was to determine if bats cohabitating buildings were also found together inside roosts by using anti‐collision technology for PIT tags, which enables simultaneous detection of multiple tags. We PIT‐tagged 293 female little brown myotis (Myotis lucifugus) and installed antennas within two buildings used as maternity roosts in Yellowstone National Park. Antennas were positioned at roost entryways to generate cohabitation networks and along regions of attic ceilings in each building to generate intraroost networks based on proximity of bats to each other. We found that intraroost and cohabitation networks of buildings were significantly correlated, with the same bats tending to be linked in both networks, but that bats cohabitating the same building often roosted apart, leading to differing assessments of social structure. Cohabitation rates implied that bats associate with a greater number of their roost‐mates than was supported by observations within the roost. This caused social networks built upon roost cohabitation rates to be denser, smaller in diameter, and contain nodes with higher average degree centrality. These results show that roost cohabitation does not reflect preference for roost‐mates in little brown myotis, as is often inferred from similar studies, and that social network analyses based on cohabitation may provide misleading results.     

Hybridisation,paternal leakage and mitochondrial DNA linearization in three anomalous fish (Scombridae)

Using mitochondrial DNA for species identification and population studies assumes that the genome is maternally inherited, circular, located in the cytoplasm and lacks recombination. This study explores the mitochondrial genomes of three anomalous mackerel. Complete mitochondrial genome sequencing plus nuclear microsatellite genotyping of these fish identified them as Scomberomorus munroi (spotted mackerel). Unlike normal S. munroi, these three fish also contained different linear, mitochondrial genomes of Scomberomorus semifasciatus (grey mackerel). The results are best explained by hybridisation, paternal leakage and mitochondrial DNA linearization. This unusual observation may provide an explanation for mtDNA outliers in animal population studies.