Distinguishing Drift and Selection Empirically: “The Great Snail Debate” of the 1950s

Biologists and philosophers have been extremely pessimistic about the possibility of demonstrating random drift in nature, particularly when it comes to distinguishing random drift from natural selection. However, examination of a historical case – Maxime Lamotte’s study of natural populations of the land snail, Cepaea nemoralis in the 1950s – shows that while some pessimism is warranted, it has been overstated. Indeed, by describing a unique signature for drift and showing that this signature obtained in the populations under study, Lamotte was able to make a good case for a significant role for␣drift. It may be difficult to disentangle the causes of drift and selection acting in a population, but it is not (always) impossible.     

Self-association of human erythrocyte glycophorin A. Appearance of low mobility bands on sodium dodecyl sulfate gels

We have examined the self-association of glycophorin A, the major sialoglycoprotein of the human erythrocyte membrane, using sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) polyacrylamide gels and circular dichroism. Pure glycophorin A has a tendency to form multiple bands on SDS gels at positions of higher apparent molecular weight than the PAS 1 and PAS 2 bands previously seen. These high molecular weight bands do not have mobilities corresponding to integral polymers of PAS 1 and PAS 2. Circular dichroism spectra of solutions giving rise to these bands or to PAS 1 and PAS 2 bands alone, indicate that these species all have essentially the same peptide conformation.     

Glycoconjugate with terminal galactose. A selective property of macrophages in developing rat lung

Pulmonary macrophages in pre- and postnatal rats were examined histochemically with a battery of peroxidase labeled lectins. Among them, Griffonia simplicifolia agglutinin I-B4 (GSA I-B4) which binds specifically to terminal alpha-galactose showed selective affinity in lung for the monocyte-macrophage line. These cells were demonstrable with GSA I-B4 from the 14th day of gestation through the adult. Extension to the ultrastructural level showed strong selective binding of this lectin to the surface of the plasmalemma and inner face of membranes limiting phagosomes in macrophages. At day 14 of gestation, monocyte-like cells positive with GSA I-B4 were scattered in various organs including lung. The lectin reactive cells in lung increased in number and size with development, infiltrating the interstitium through day 20 of gestation and then also entering the alveolar space. These findings suggest that GSA I-B4 recognizes a surface glycoconjugate characteristic of the pulmonary monocyte-macrophage line. Such selective lectin affinity offers a marker for detecting the pulmonary macrophages and examining their kinetics by light and electron microscopy.     

Histochemical evaluation of glycoconjugates in the male reproductive tract with lectin-horseradish peroxidase conjugates: I. Staining of principal cells and spermatozoa in the mouse

Several glycoconjugates are thought to bind spermatozoa as they pass through reproductive ducts. Paraffin sections of testis, ductuli efferentes, epididymis, and vas deferens of male mice were stained with ten different lectin-horseradish peroxidase conjugates to localize possible sites of synthesis and secretion of such glycoconjugates, based on the carbohydrate moieties in their constituent oligosaccharide side chains. Principal (columnar) cells lining the efferent ducts, germinal epithelium, and developing and maturing spermatozoa were examined with light microscopy. Staining of the Golgi and apical zones of cells was interpreted as evidence for synthesis and secretion of glycoconjugates. Principal cells synthesized and secreted glycoconjugates with sugar moieties as follows: sialic acid, all regions of the efferent ducts examined; the terminal disaccharide D-galactose- (beta 1----3) -N-acetyl-D-galactosamine, all regions of ducts except epididymis I; terminal alpha-D-galactosamine, some cells in epididymis III-V; N-acetyl-D-galactosamine, ductuli efferentes, epididymis I, II, and some cells in epididymis III-V; alpha-L-fucose, ductuli efferentes, vas deferens, and all regions of the epididymis except IV; N-glycosidic side chains, ductuli efferentes, vas deferens, and epididymis I, IV, and V. All of these sugar residues as well as N-acetyl-D-glucosamine were associated with the acrosomes and tails of spermatozoa throughout the ducts except for alpha-N-acetyl-D-galactosamine in epididymis I, and all occurred during one or more stages of spermiogenesis. The synthesis and secretion of glycoconjugates that bind to spermatozoa appear to involve more regions of the primary reproductive structures than was believed previously.