Interrelationships of Staphyliniform groups inferred from 18S and 28S rDNA sequences, with special emphasis on Hydrophiloidea (Coleoptera, Staphyliniformia)

The series Staphyliniformia is one of the mega‐diverse groups of Coleoptera, but the relationships among the main families are still poorly understood. In this paper we address the interrelationships of staphyliniform groups, with special emphasis on Hydrophiloidea and Hydraenidae, based on partial sequences of the ribosomal genes 18S rDNA and 28S rDNA. Sequence data were analysed with parsimony and Bayesian posterior probabilities, in an attempt to overcome the likely effect of some branches longer than the 95% cumulative probability of the estimated normal distribution of the path lengths of the species. The inter‐family relationships in the trees obtained with both methods were in general poorly supported, although most of the results based on the sequence data are in good agreement with morphological studies. In none of our analyses a close relationship between Hydraenidae and Hydrophiloidea was supported, contrary to the traditional view but in agreement with recent morphological investigations. Hydraenidae form a clade with Ptiliidae and Scydmaenidae in the tree obtained with Bayesian probabilities, but are placed as basal group of Staphyliniformia (with Silphidae as subordinate group) in the parsimony tree. Based on the analysed data with a limited set of outgroups Scarabaeoidea are nested within Staphyliniformia. However, this needs further support. Hydrophiloidea s.str., Sphaeridiinae, Histeroidea (Histeridae + Sphaeritidae), and all staphylinoid families included are confirmed as monophyletic, with the exception of Hydraenidae in the parsimony tree. Spercheidae are not a basal group within Hydrophiloidea, as has been previously suggested, but included in a polytomy with other Hydrophilidae in the Bayesian analyses, or its sistergroup (with the inclusion of Epimetopidae) in the parsimony tree. Helophorus is placed at the base of Hydrophiloidea in the parsimony tree. The monophyly of Hydrophiloidea s.l. (including the histeroid families) and Staphylinoidea could not be confirmed by the analysed data. Some results, such as a placement of Silphidae as subordinate group of Hydraenidae (parsimony tree), or a sistergroup relationship between Ptiliidae and Scydmaenidae, appear unlikely from a morphological point of view.     

Experimental chemotherapy of radiation injury with synthetic lysophospholipid analogs in mice

Synthetic lysophospholipids represent a variety of analogs of the naturally occurring 2-lysophosphatidylcholine. Some of these compounds showed significant therapeutic effects on the survival of mice following radiation injury when administered after various doses of whole-body X irradiation. Such therapeutic effects were discernible even when the treatment was given 6 hr after irradiation, and both intravenous and oral application were effective. Intravenous application of 2 X 25 mg/kg lysophospholipid after whole-body X irradiation around the LD50 resulted in significantly higher numbers of surviving animals. The mode of action remains speculative.     

Natural and Chernobyl-caused radioactivity in mushrooms,mosses and soil-samples of defined biotops in SW Bavaria

Summary Different mushrooms, mosses and corresponding soil samples have been collected mainly from two sites in the alpine region of southwestern Bavaria. At the end of the growthseason, September 1986, gamma spectroscopic analysis showed that the moss-, mould, and needle-layer contained considerably more ¹³⁴Cs and ¹³⁷Cs activity per unit fresh weight than eight different species of mushroom. These two isotopes were carried into the biotop mainly as a consequence of the Chernobyl accident. ¹³¹J could not be found any more in the samples ca. 5–6 months after the catastrophe. The activity of the cesium isotopes decreased with increasing soil depth. In the mushrooms the activity was relatively high in Xerocomus badius and surprisingly low in Boletus edulis; samples of the latter and of Cantharellus cibarius collected in September 1985 (before the accident) and kept deep frozen contained almost identical amounts of ¹³⁷Cs as those collected from August to October 1986. Mushrooms contained considerably more of the natural isotope ⁴⁰K than the needlelayers and the soil samples in the neighbourhood. In all mushrooms except Xerocomus badius the activity of ⁴⁰K was generally higher than the ¹³⁷Cs activity. The results indicate that except Xerocomus badius the analyzed mushrooms do not actively take up Cs from the soil, in contrast to K.     

Interaction of human thrombospondin with types I-V collagen: direct binding and electron microscopy

Binding of thrombospondin (TSP) to types I-V collagen was examined by direct binding assays using 125I-TSP and by visualization of rotary-shadowed intermolecular complexes in the electron microscope. The binding of TSP was highest to type V collagen in the absence of Ca, while lower but significant levels of binding were observed to all other collagen types in the presence or absence of Ca. Unlike intact TSP, the trimeric collagen-binding domain of TSP composed of 70-kD chains showed no Ca dependence in its binding to type V collagen. Further evidence for binding of TSP to types I and III collagen was obtained by competition studies in which these soluble collagens effectively inhibited binding of 125I-TSP to immobilized type V collagen. The binding of TSP to type V collagen was inhibited by heparin and fucoidin, both high-affinity ligands of TSP's heparin-binding domain. mAb A6.1, which binds to the 70-kD domain of TSP, is also the best of a panel of anti-TSP mAbs at inhibiting the TSP-collagen interaction. Electron microscopy of rotary-shadowed replicas of TSP-collagen complexes revealed that all five types of collagen examined had a binding site for TSP at one end of the pepsinized, triple helical molecule. The specificity of this site was tested by examining the ability of BSA to form a complex with the end of the pepsinized collagens. Rotary-shadowed replicas revealed a low frequency of apparent BSA-collagen complexes, and histograms of these data showed no evidence for the preferential association of BSA with the end of the collagen molecules. In addition to the specific end site, type V collagen had an internal binding site for TSP located about two-thirds of the distance along the length of the collagen molecule from the end site. The internal binding site for TSP on type V collagen is apparently the site responsible for the higher affinity binding of TSP to that protein observed in direct binding assays. The trimeric 70-kD collagen-binding domain of TSP bound to the same sites on the collagens as did intact TSP.     

Enzyme-coding genes as molecular clocks: The molecular evolution of animal alpha-amylases

Summary We constructed a cDNA library for the beetle,Tribolium castaneum. This library was screened using a cloned amylase gene fromDrosophila melanogaster as a molecular probe. Beetle amylase cDNA clones were isolated from this bank, and the nucleotide sequence was obtained for a cDNA clone with a coding capacity for 228 amino acids. Both the nucleotide sequence and predicted amino acid sequence were compared to our recent results forD. melanogaster alpha-amylases, along with published sequences for other alpha-amylases. The results show that animal alpha-amylases are highly conserved over their entire length. A borader comparison, which includes plant and microbial alpha-amylase sequences, indicates that parts of the gene are conserved between prokaryotes, plants, and animals. We discuss the potential importance of this and other enzyme-coding genes for the construction of molecular phylogenies and for the study of the general question of molecular clocks in evolution.     

Correlates and predictors of the age of menarche

In a cross-sectional study of 452 girls between 10 and 16 years of age 36 indices of physical and 50 of mental development were tested for their correlation with age at menarche and chronological age, as well as for their predictive power for estimating menarche by multiple regression analysis. Indices of physical maturity and body weight when adjusted for chronological age showed the highest partial correlation coefficients with age at menarche. Among mental characters which show lower intercorrelations with menarche occurred the highest correlation coefficients for a handmotor factor "Spurennachzeichnen" and a factor "Gruppenabh?ngigkeit" (which indicates a type of social motivation). In general physical and mental factors correlate higher with chronological age than with age at menarche. By multiple regression analysis we determined 14 physical and 25 mental predictors explaining 21% and 17% respectively of the variance of age at menarche. The error of the estimate predicting menarche on body weight without knowledge of onset of menarche is +/- 1 year. Using chronological age in a sample of girls before menarche the error of the estimate only is +/- 6 months. To compare the predictive power of chronological age combined with body weight or with skeletal age the time interval is calculated within which 95% of girls attain menarche. The range of prediction extends from 4.3 to 1 year on chronological age (11-16 years); using mean body weight it can be improved by 1.8 to 6 months, while using mean skeletal age an improvement of 0.2 to 3.9 months is possible compared with body weight. The correlations between age at menarche and physical and mental variables are attributed to a common hormonal influence on rate of development.