How to Make a Beetle Out of Wood: Multi-Elemental Stoichiometry of Wood Decay,Xylophagy and Fungivory

The majority of terrestrial biomass is wood, but the elemental composition of its potential consumers, xylophages, differs hugely from that of wood. This causes a severe nutritional imbalance. We studied the stoichiometric relationships of 11 elements (C, N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Fe, Zn, Mn, Cu, Na) in three species of pine-xylem-feeding insects, Stictoleptura rubra, Arhopalus rusticus (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae) and Chalcophora mariana (Coleoptera, Buprestidae), to elucidate their mechanisms of tissue growth and to match their life histories to their dietary constraints. These beetles do not differ from other Coleoptera in their absolute elemental compositions, which are approximately 1000 (N), 100 (P, Cu) and 50 (K, Na) times higher than in dead but undecayed pine wood. This discrepancy diminishes along the wood decay gradient, but the elemental concentrations remain higher by an order of magnitude in beetles than in highly decayed wood. Numerical simulation of the life history of S. rubra shows that feeding on nutrient-poor undecayed wood would extend its development time to implausible values, whereas feeding on highly decomposed wood (heavily infected with fungi) would barely balance its nutritional budget during the long development period of this species. The changes in stoichiometry indicate that the relative change in the nutrient levels in decaying wood cannot be attributed solely to carbon loss resulting from decomposer respiration: the action of fungi substantially enriches the decaying wood with nutritional elements imported from the outside of the system, making it a suitable food for wood-eating invertebrates.     

Lead as an inductor of some morphological and functional changes in synaptosomes from rat brain

Summary 1. The effect of lead (in vivo) on the uptake of GABA, dopamine, and histidine as a precursor of histamine in synaptosomes obtained from chronically lead-treated rats was studied.2. Lead decreased the uptake of GABA, increased the uptake of dopamine, and did not change the uptake of histidine. These effects were independent of calcium concentration.3. Lead administration to the rat changed the morphology of the synaptosomes, as manifested in the decreased number of synaptic vesicles and disturbed mitochondrial structure.4. The results suggest the existence of several mechanisms of lead toxicity on uptake, related to individual neurotransmitters, which are not necessarily connected with a Pb²⁺/Ca²⁺ interaction.     

Isolation and Characterization of a Novel Bacteriophage φ4D Lytic Against Enterococcus faecalis Strains

In recent years, Enterococcus faecalis has emerged as an important opportunistic nosocomial pathogen capable of causing dangerous infections. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop novel antibacterial agents to control this pathogen. Bacteriophages have very effective bactericidal activity and several advantages over other antimicrobial agents and so far, no serious or irreversible side effects of phage therapy have been described. The objective of this study was to characterize a novel virulent bacteriophage φ4D isolated from sewage. Electron microscopy revealed its resemblance to Myoviridae, with an isometric head (74 ± 4 nm) and a long contractile tail (164 ± 4 nm). The φ4D phage genome was tested using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and estimated to be 145 ± 2 kb. It exhibited short latent period (25 min) and a relatively small burst size (36 PFU/cell). Tests were conducted on the host range, multiplicities of infection (MOI), thermal stability, digestion of DNA by restriction enzymes, and proteomic analyses of this phage. The isolated phage was capable of infecting a wide spectrum of enterococcal strains. The results of these investigations indicate that φ4D is similar to other Myoviridae bacteriophages (for example φEF24C), which have been successfully used in phagotherapy.     

Novel recombinant human lactoferrin: Differential activation of oxidative stress related gene expression

Lactoferrin, an iron-binding protein found in high concentrations in mammalian exocrine secretions, is an important component of the host defense system. It is also a major protein of the secondary granules of neutrophils from which is released upon activation. Due to its potential clinical utility, recombinant human lactoferrin (rhLF) has been produced in various eukaryotic expression systems; however, none of these are fully compatible with humans. Most of the biopharmaceuticals approved by the FDA for use in humans are produced in mammalian expression systems. The Chinese hamster ovary cells (CHO) have become the system of choice for proteins that require post-translational modifications, such as glycoproteins.     

Alloparental feeding in Adélie penguins: why is it uncommon?

We investigated alloparental interactions and conditions which could facilitate or prevent the expression of alloparental behaviours in Adélie penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae), a long-lived seabird which nests in high-density colonies around Antarctica. Observation sessions were carried out during the crèche stage on 48 identified pairs and 50 identified chicks in a 217-nest subcolony. As the season progressed, young were fed less often by their own parents because these were increasingly absent from the breeding site and less responsive to their offspring’s solicitations. As a consequence, young and particularly those with a low body mass, coming from a two-chick brood, opted for gradually soliciting more from other adults to obtain food, preferentially those nesting in their direct vicinity. Unsuccessful breeders represented a low and constant part of the adult population and were not specifically solicited by unrelated young. Despite the increasing chick demand, only 4.1% (3 out of 73) of alloparental solicitations resulted in feeding, which is negligible compared to parental feeding. To investigate factors that could trigger the appearance of alloparental care, we carried out comparisons with king (Aptenodytes patagonicus) and emperor penguins (Aptenodytes forsteri) which represent the closest species for which data on alloparental behaviour were available. Our results show different trends to those observed in these species and three factors may explain the low occurrence of alloparental behaviour in Adélie penguins: (1) the low and constant proportion of unsuccessful breeders, (2) the absence of chick selectivity towards unsuccessful breeders, and (3) the late period of chick accessibility for potential alloparents.     

jMHC: software assistant for multilocus genotyping of gene families using next-generation amplicon sequencing

Genotyping of multilocus gene families, such as the major histocompatibility complex (MHC), may be challenging because of problems with assigning alleles to loci and copy number variation among individuals. Simultaneous amplification and genotyping of multiple loci may be necessary, and in such cases, next-generation deep amplicon sequencing offers a great promise as a genotyping method of choice. Here, we describe jMHC, a computer program developed for analysing and assisting in the visualization of deep amplicon sequencing data. Software operates on FASTA files; therefore, output from any sequencing technology may be used. jMHC was designed specifically for MHC studies but it may be useful for analysing amplicons derived from other multigene families or for genotyping other polymorphic systems. The program is written in Java with user-friendly graphical interface (GUI) and can be run on Microsoft Windows, Linux OS and Mac OS.     

3′-End processing of histone pre-mRNAs in Drosophila: U7 snRNP is associated with FLASH and polyadenylation factors

3′-End cleavage of animal replication-dependent histone pre-mRNAs is controlled by the U7 snRNP. Lsm11, the largest component of the U7-specific Sm ring, interacts with FLASH, and in mammalian nuclear extracts these two proteins form a platform that recruits the CPSF73 endonuclease and other polyadenylation factors to the U7 snRNP. FLASH is limiting, and the majority of the U7 snRNP in mammalian extracts exists as a core particle consisting of the U7 snRNA and the Sm ring. Here, we purified the U7 snRNP from Drosophila nuclear extracts and characterized its composition by mass spectrometry. In contrast to the mammalian U7 snRNP, a significant fraction of the Drosophila U7 snRNP contains endogenous FLASH and at least six subunits of the polyadenylation machinery: symplekin, CPSF73, CPSF100, CPSF160, WDR33, and CstF64. The same composite U7 snRNP is recruited to histone pre-mRNA for 3′-end processing. We identified a motif in Drosophila FLASH that is essential for the recruitment of the polyadenylation complex to the U7 snRNP and analyzed the role of other factors, including SLBP and Ars2, in 3′-end processing of Drosophila histone pre-mRNAs. SLBP that binds the upstream stem–loop structure likely recruits a yet-unidentified essential component(s) to the processing machinery. In contrast, Ars2, a protein previously shown to interact with FLASH in mammalian cells, is dispensable for processing in Drosophila. Our studies also demonstrate that Drosophila symplekin and three factors involved in cleavage and polyadenylation—CPSF, CstF, and CF I_m—are present in Drosophila nuclear extracts in a stable supercomplex.