Seasonal succession in the plankton of a naturally acidic, highly humic lake in Northeastern Ohio, USA

A 13 month study of the plankton in a naturally acidic bog lakeshowed high algal biovohune, year-round dominance by flagellatesand mid-summer dominance by Gonyostomum semen. Zooplankton abundanceand species richness was very low. Rotifers were the year-rounddominants.     

Alpha omega alpha election and medical school thesis publication: relationship to subsequent publication rate over a twenty-year period.

To determine the importance of academic and research success during medical school upon subsequent academic activity, a computerized literature search was performed using the names of the 79 surviving members of the Yale Medical School Class of 1970. Individuals elected to Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) during the third year of school had significantly more publications (mean 101.7 +/- 69.6) between 1970 and 1990 than those elected during the fourth year (mean 28.3 +/- 48.0, p = 0.01). Both had significantly more publications than non-AOA members (mean 11.1 +/- 19.4, p = 0.02). Publication of the student''s medical school thesis was also associated with a greater number of publications than thesis non-publication (mean 22.1 +/- 37.5 vs 14.4 +/- 30.0, p = 0.005). These studies demonstrate that, at least at the institution studied, election to AOA and publication of the results of a research project were associated with increased publication rates in the medical field over the 20-year period following medical school graduation.     

Zooplankton–phytoplankton relationships in shallow subtropical versus temperate lakes Apopka (Florida,USA) and Trasimeno (Umbria,Italy)

This study compares and contrasts the dynamics of phytoplankton, zooplankton, and nutrients in two of the largest shallow lakes in the USA (Lake Apopka, Florida) and Europe (Lago Trasimeno, Umbria, Italy) and considers particularly the biomass ratio of zooplankton to phytoplankton (BZ:BP) in relation to nutrient levels and in the context of data from other subtropical and temperate lakes. Lake Apopka is hypereutrophic with higher concentrations of total phosphorus (TP), nitrogen (TN), and nearly an order of magnitude higher BP than Lago Trasimeno. However, combined data from the two lakes can be fit to a single log–log regression model that explains 72% of the variability in BP based on TP. In contrast, BZ has a significant positive log–log relationship with TP only for Lago Trasimeno, and is much lower than expected based on the TP concentrations observed in Lake Apopka. Lake Apopka has a fish assemblage that includes high densities of gizzard shad (Dorosoma cepedianum) and threadfin shad (D. petenense), similar to other eutrophic Florida lakes that also have extreme low BZ. The ratio BZ:BP is below 0.01 in Lake Apopka, 10-fold lower than in Trasimeno and among the lowest values reported in the literature. Although stress of high water temperature and a greater proportion of inedible cyanobacteria may be contributing factors, the collective results support an emerging view that fish predation limits the biomass of crustacean zooplankton in subtropical lakes. Handling editor: S. I. Dodson     

The potential role of public gardens as sentinels of plant invasion

Public gardens can help prevent detrimental effects of plant invasions by collecting and sharing data on taxa spreading from cultivation early in the invasion process, thereby acting as sentinels of plant invasion. Existing initiatives have called for public gardens to adopt measures preventing plant invasion, but it is unclear what actions individual gardens are implementing, as there is no formal mechanism for communicating their progress. This study used internal lists of escaping taxa from seven public gardens in the Midwestern United States and Canada to demonstrate how public gardens can collectively contribute data that is critical to assessing potential invasiveness. It also reveals methodological differences in how gardens develop their lists of escaping plants, leading to recommendations for standardization. Data pooled across gardens yielded 769 species spreading from cultivation at one or more gardens. Eight woody species were listed by all gardens despite not consistently being recognized as invasive by states and provinces containing the gardens; some species recorded by multiple gardens did not appear on any invasive lists. While it may be premature to call taxa escaping from cultivation at a few public gardens “invasive” or even “potentially invasive”, these plants should be monitored and evaluated with this information shared to facilitate stronger conclusions about risk. Thus, public gardens have a unique expertise in assisting invasive plant efforts as sentinels, particularly if challenges related to methodological inconsistencies and data sharing are suitably addressed, which is herein recommended through the adoption of a set of standardized guidelines.

     

Development of a microplate-based, electrophoretic fluorescent protein kinase a assay: comparison with filter-binding and fluorescence polarization assay formats

A microplate-based electrophoretic assay has been developed for the serine/threonine kinase protein kinase A (PKA). The ElectroCapture PKA assay developed uses a positively charged, lissamine-rhodamine-labeled kemptide peptide substrate for the kinase reaction and Nanogen's ElectroCapture HTS Workstation and 384-well laminated membrane plates to electrophoretically separate the negatively charged phosphorylated peptide product from the kinase reaction mix. After the electrophoretic separation, the amount of rhodamine-labeled phosphopeptide product was quantified using a Tecan Ultra384 fluorescence reader. The ElectroCapture PKA assay was validated with both known PKA inhibitors and library compounds. The pK(iapp) results obtained in the ElectroCapture PKA assay were comparable to those generated with current radioactive filter-binding assay and antibody-based competitive fluorescence polarization PKA assay formats.     

Gene therapy for murine glycerol kinase deficiency: importance of murine ortholog

A glycerol kinase (Gyk) knock-out (KO) mouse model permits improved understanding of glycerol kinase (GK) deficiency (GKD) pathogenesis, however, early death of affected mice limits its utility. The purpose of this work was to delay death of affected males to investigate thoroughly their phenotypes. An adenoviral vector carrying the human (Adeno-XGK) or mouse (Adeno-XGyk) GK gene was injected into KO mice within 24 h of birth. Adeno-XGK did not change KO mouse survival time despite liver GK activity greater than 100% of wild type. However, Adeno-XGyk improved KO mouse survival time greater than two-fold. These investigations demonstrate that gene replacement therapy for Gyk KO mice is more efficacious using murine Gyk than human GK. These studies expand our understanding of GKD pathogenesis in the murine model, and show that while murine GKD is more severe than in humans, GKD mice have similar metabolic disturbances to affected humans with hypoglycemia and acidemia.     

A synthetic approach reveals extensive tunability of auxin signaling

Explaining how the small molecule auxin triggers diverse yet specific responses is a long-standing challenge in plant biology. An essential step in auxin response is the degradation of Auxin/Indole-3-Acetic Acid (Aux/IAA, referred to hereafter as IAA) repressor proteins through interaction with auxin receptors. To systematically characterize diversity in degradation behaviors among IAA|receptor pairs, we engineered auxin-induced degradation of plant IAA proteins in yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae). We found that IAA degradation dynamics vary widely, depending on which receptor is present, and are not encoded solely by the degron-containing domain II. To facilitate this and future studies, we identified a mathematical model able to quantitatively describe IAA degradation behavior in a single parameter. Together, our results demonstrate the remarkable tunability conferred by specific configurations of the auxin response pathway.     

Thymine DNA Glycosylase Is a CRL4Cdt2 Substrate

The E3 ubiquitin ligase CRL4^Cdt2 targets proteins for destruction in S phase and after DNA damage by coupling ubiquitylation to DNA-bound proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA). Coupling to PCNA involves a PCNA-interacting peptide (PIP) degron motif in the substrate that recruits CRL4^Cdt2 while binding to PCNA. In vertebrates, CRL4^Cdt2 promotes degradation of proteins whose presence in S phase is deleterious, including Cdt1, Set8, and p21. Here, we show that CRL4^Cdt2 targets thymine DNA glycosylase (TDG), a base excision repair enzyme that is involved in DNA demethylation. TDG contains a conserved and nearly perfect match to the PIP degron consensus. TDG is ubiquitylated and destroyed in a PCNA-, Cdt2-, and PIP degron-dependent manner during DNA repair in Xenopus egg extract. The protein can also be destroyed during DNA replication in this system. During Xenopus development, TDG first accumulates during gastrulation, and its expression is down-regulated by CRL4^Cdt2. Our results expand the group of vertebrate CRL4^Cdt2 substrates to include a bona fide DNA repair enzyme.