Effects of drought on host and endophyte development in mycorrhizal soybeans in relation to water use and phosphate uptake

Bethlenfalvay, G. J., Brown, M. S., Ames, R. N. and Thomas, R. S. 1988. Effects of drought on host and endophyte development in mycorrhizal soybeans in relation to water use and phosphate uptake. - Physiol. Plant. 72: 565–571.
Soybean [ Glycine max (L.) Merr.] plants were grown in pot cultures and inoculated with the vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal (VAM) fungus Glomus mosseae (Nicol. & Gerd.) Gerd. and Trappe or provided with P fertilizer (non-VAM plants). After an initial growth period (21 days), plants were exposed to cycles of severe, moderate or no drought stress over a subsequent 28-day period by rewatering at soil water potentials of -1.0, -0.3 or -0.05 MPa. Dry weights of VAM plants were greater at severe stress and smaller at no stress than those of non-VAM plants. Phosphorus fertilization was applied to produce VAM and non-VAM plants of the same size at moderate stress. Root and leaf P concentrations were higher in non-VAM plants at all stress levels. All plants were stressed to permanent wilting prior to harvest. VAM plants had lower soil moisture content at harvest than non-VAM plants. Colonization of roots by G. mosseae did not vary with stress, but the biomass and length of the extraradical mycelium was greater in severely stressed than in non-stressed plants. Growth enhancement of VAM plants relative to P-fertilized non-VAM plants under severe stress was attributed to increased uptake of water as well as to more efficient P uptake. The ability of VAM plants to deplete soil water to a greater extent than non-VAM plants suggests lower permanent wilting potentials for the former.     

Succinate as a Growth Factor for Bacteroides melaninogenicus

Rumen strains of the obligate anaerobe Bacteroides melaninogenicus normally require medium supplemented with both heme and vitamin K. Sodium succinate was found to be an additional growth factor in that this compound can replace the requirement for heme in the presence of vitamin K, allowing good growth of the organism, and succinate can also partially replace the requirement for vitamin K in the presence of heme. The addition of succinate to a medium supplemented with both vitamin K and heme increases the growth rate of the culture. This ability to stimulate growth was specific for succinate, and cells grown without heme but with vitamin K and succinate were insensitive to cyanide. These experiments demonstrate a central role for succinate in the metabolism of B. melaninogenicus.     

Localization of sequences regulating ancestral and acquired sites of esterase6 activity in Drosophila melanogaster

We have broadly defined the DNA regions regulating esterase6 activity in several life stages and tissue types of D. melanogaster using P- element-mediated transformation of constructs that contain the esterase6 coding region and deletions or substitutions in 5' or 3' flanking DNA. Hemolymph is a conserved ancestral site of EST6 activity in Drosophila and the primary sequences regulating its activity lie between -171 and -25 bp relative to the translation initiation site: deletion of these sequences decrease activity approximately 20-fold. Hemolymph activity is also modulated by four other DNA regions, three of which lie 5' and one of which lies 3' of the coding region. Of these, two have positive and two have negative effects, each of approximately twofold. Esterase6 activity is present also in two male reproductive tract tissues; the ejaculatory bulb, which is another ancestral activity site, and the ejaculatory duct, which is a recently acquired site within the melanogaster species subgroup. Activities in these tissues are at least in part independently regulated: activity in the ejaculatory bulb is conferred by sequences between -273 and -172 bp (threefold decrease when deleted), while activity in the ejaculatory duct is conferred by more distal sequences between -844 and -614 bp (fourfold decrease when deleted). The reproductive tract activity is further modulated by two additional DNA regions, one in 5' DNA (-613 to -284 bp; threefold decrease when deleted) and the other in 3' DNA (+1860 to +2731 bp; threefold decrease when deleted) that probably overlaps the adjacent esteraseP gene. Collating these data with previous studies suggests that expression of EST6 in the ancestral sites is mainly regulated by conserved proximal sequences while more variable distal sequences regulate expression in the acquired ejaculatory duct site.      

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.      

Freezing of nonwoody plant tissues: IV. Nucleation sites for freezing and refreezing of onion bulb epidermal cells

A freezing microscope and videotape recorder were used to study ice formation in onion bulb epidermal cells during repeated freezing. Behavior during refreezing after freezing and thawing indicated that the barrier to ice crystal propagation previously reported in living cells was not damaged by freezing. Refreezing in many cells began at a site other than that responsible for the initial freezing.     

Upper pleistocene human remains from Vindija cave,Croatia, Yugoslavia

Human remains excavated from Vindija cave include a large although fragmentary sample of late Mousterian-associated specimens and a few additional individuals from the overlying early Upper Paleolithic levels. The Mousterian-associated sample is similar to European Neandertals from other regions. Compared with earlier Neandertals from south central Europe, this sample evinces evolutionary trends in the direction of Upper Paleolithic Europeans. Compared with the western European Neandertals, the same trends can be demonstrated, although the magnitude of difference is less, and there is a potential for confusing temporal with regional sources of variation. The early Upper Paleolithic-associated sample cannot be distinguished from the Mousterian-associated hominids. We believe that this site provides support for Hrdli?ka's “Neandertal phase” of human evolution, as it was originally applied in Europe.     

Role of nucleosides, 5-phosphoribosyl-1-pyrophosphate, and ribose 1-phosphate in the biosynthesis of phosphosphingolipids in Bacteroides melaninogenicus.

Using a deenergized spheroplast system from Bacterioides melaninogenicus, the sphingolipid precursor 3-ketodihydrosphingosine is not incorporated into the complete sphingolipids, ceramide phosphorylethanolamine, or ceramide phosphorylglycerol unless supplied with glutamine, ATP, ADP, or AMP. Adenosine, inosine, and certain other nucleosides were as effective as ATP. Purine bases and ribose, however, were inactive in this system. 5-Phosphoribosyl-1-pyrophosphate and ribose 1-phosphate also stimulated conversion of 3-ketodihydrosphingosine into ceramide phosphorylethanolamine and ceramide phosphorylglycerol, whereas ribose 5-phosphate showed only slight activity. Hypoxanthine was the main product formed from inosine and adenosine but there was no evidence for nucleotide formation. Adenosine stimulated³²P_i incorporation into cell phospholipids indicating that ribose 1-phosphate, formed via purine nucleoside phosphorylase, could be the compound stimulating sphingolipid synthesis in this system.     

Sensitivity of a Bacteroides melaninogenicus strain to monosaccharides: effect on enzyme induction.

The inhibition of growth in Bacteroides melaninogenicus by sugars in described. Monosaccharides such as D-glucose, D-galactose, D-mannose, and D-fructose are inhibitory at low concentrations, whereas the disaccharides sucrose and lactose are not inhibitory even at high concentrations. The major inhibitory effect of the sugar is found during the transition of lag to logarithmic growth phases. There was no primary effect of D-glucose on protein, ribonucleic acid, or deoxyribonucleic acid synthesis on cells in transition from lag to logarithmic growth. However, the addition of glucose or galactose completely abolished the induction of 3-ketodihydrosphingosine synthetase by vitamin K in vitamin K-depleted cells. Futhermore, in cells which were not vitamin K depleted, the level of this enzyme was drastically reduced by the addition of the sugar. Cyclic adenosine 5-monophosphate was unable to reverse the growth inhibition produced by glucose. In actively growing cultures, addition of sugar slows the growth rate. In these experiments the level of 3-ketodihydrosphingosine synthetase fell only after the cells had assumed the slower rate of growth. There were two indications that D-galactose was more inhibitory than D-glucose; in the presence of 0.1% D-galactose cells in lag phase did not show the increase in turbidity found in similar cells placed in medium with 0.1% D-glucose, and also D-galactose caused a greater decrease in the growth rate of actively growing cultures than was found with D-glucose. These studies suggest that the inhibitory effect of monosaccharides in lag leads to logarithmic growth transition can be ascribed to an effect on enzyme induction. On the other hand, the ability of many monosaccharides to inhibit growth, and the greater inhibitory property of D-galactose compared with D-glucose, suggests that other mechanisms may be operative as well.     

The role of snail aestivation in transmission of schistosomiasis in changing climatic conditions

Schistosomiasis vector snails are subjected to extreme seasonal changes, particularly in ephemeral rivers and lentic waterbodies. In the tropics, aestivation is one of the adaptive strategies for survival and is used by snails in times of extremely high temperatures and desiccation. Aestivation therefore plays an important role in maintaining the transmission of schistosomiasis. This review assesses the possible impacts of climate change on the temporal and spatial distribution of schistosomiasis-transmitting snails with special emphasis on aestivation, and discusses the effect of schistosome infection on aestivation ability. The impacts of parasite development on snails, as well as physiological changes, are discussed with reference to schistosomiasis transmission. This review shows that schistosome-infected snails have lower survival rates during aestivation, and that those that survive manage to get rid of the infection. In general, snail aestivation ability is poor and survival chances diminish with time. Longer dry periods result in fewer, as well as uninfected, snails. However, the ability of the surviving snails to repopulate the habitats is high.