Rat striatal dopamine and tetrahydrobiopterin content following an intrastriatal injection of manganese chloride

Injection of manganese into the rat corpus striatum causes a rapid fall in the biopterin and dopamine (DA) content ipsilateral to the lesion. Two weeks after the lesion both biopterin and DA are partially recovered. Controls, injected with saline or magnesium, do not show alterations in their DA or cofactor levels. It is proposed that the fall in DA levels results from a rapid displacement of the amine from its storage sites by manganese followed by a decrease in the rate of DA synthesis causes by the drop in cofactor levels.     

Allometric growth and adaptive value of exaggerated body parts in the larvae of Gratiana spadicea (Klug) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)

1. Larvae of tortoise beetles present exaggerated body parts in association with an abdominal shield, which is made of faeces and exuviae that are deposited on the urogomphi throughout ontogeny. Growth trajectories and scaling relationships of these functional structures associated with the shield, if any, are unknown. 2. This study of Gratiana spadicea first tested, under field conditions, whether there is adaptive value associated with the shield regarding protection against predation and sunlight. Then, under laboratory conditions, the growth trajectory and allometric relationships among body parts were investigated, including scoli, individual and apparent furcae, and shield. The influence of food deprivation on the development of these structures was also determined. 3. Findings from previous studies were confirmed, suggesting that the adaptive value assigned to the shield is related to protection against predators. The present study demonstrated for the first time that the shield acts as a parasol in cassidines, decreasing the exposure of their larval body to sunlight. The scoli and apparent furca are exaggerated structures of G. spadicea, the development of which involves allometric growth and greater energetic investment (positive allometry) during ontogeny. There was proportionally less energetic investment for somatic construction of individual furca (negative allometry) due to the accumulation of the exuviae. 4. The possible consequences, in terms of developmental costs and survivorship benefits associated with the evolution of such exaggerated structures, are discussed.     

The roles of autophosphorylation and phosphorylation in the life of osteopontin

Osteopotin is a secreted glycosylated phosphoprotein found in bone and other normal and malignant tissues. Osteopontin can be autophosphorylated on tyrosine residues and can also be phosphorylated on serine and threonine residues by several protein kinases. Autophosphorylation of osteopontin may generate sites for specific interactions with other proteins on the cell surface and/or within the extracelluar matrix. These interactions of osteopontin are thought to be essential for bone mineralization and function. The polyaspartic acid motif of osteopontin, in combination with neighboring sequences that include serine residues phosphorylated by protein kinases, could fold and assemble into a molecular structure that participates in the mineralization of the bone matrix.     

Paleomicrobiology: Revealing Fecal Microbiomes of Ancient Indigenous Cultures

Coprolites are fossilized feces that can be used to provide information on the composition of the intestinal microbiota and, as we show, possibly on diet. We analyzed human coprolites from the Huecoid and Saladoid cultures from a settlement on Vieques Island, Puerto Rico. While more is known about the Saladoid culture, it is believed that both societies co-existed on this island approximately from 5 to 1170 AD. By extracting DNA from the coprolites, followed by metagenomic characterization, we show that both cultures can be distinguished from each other on the basis of their bacterial and fungal gut microbiomes. In addition, we show that parasite loads were heavy and also culturally distinct. Huecoid coprolites were characterized by maize and Basidiomycetes sequences, suggesting that these were important components of their diet. Saladoid coprolite samples harbored sequences associated with fish parasites, suggesting that raw fish was a substantial component of their diet. The present study shows that ancient DNA is not entirely degraded in humid, tropical environments, and that dietary and/or host genetic differences in ancient populations may be reflected in the composition of their gut microbiome. This further supports the hypothesis that the two ancient cultures studied were distinct, and that they retained distinct technological/cultural differences during an extended period of close proximity and peaceful co-existence. The two populations seemed to form the later-day Taínos, the Amerindians present at the point of Columbian contact. Importantly, our data suggest that paleomicrobiomics can be a powerful tool to assess cultural differences between ancient populations.     

N-carboxymethylchitosan: Algistatic and algicidal properties

Summary A water soluble agent made from waste crustacean shells that controls the growth of algal cells was identified. Growth of an Anabaena sp. was inhibited in the presence of varied concentrations of a chitosan-derivative, N-carboxymethylchitosan (NCMC). Application of a dilute water solutions of NCMC prevented algae from multiplication and enhanced aggregation of cells and assured clearing of algal suspension by filtration.     

Body Size,Growth and Life Span: Implications for the Polewards Range Shift of Octopus tetricus in South-Eastern Australia

Understanding the response of any species to climate change can be challenging. However, in short-lived species the faster turnover of generations may facilitate the examination of responses associated with longer-term environmental change. Octopus tetricus, a commercially important species, has undergone a recent polewards range shift in the coastal waters of south-eastern Australia, thought to be associated with the southerly extension of the warm East Australian Current. At the cooler temperatures of a polewards distribution limit, growth of a species could be slower, potentially leading to a bigger body size and resulting in a slower population turnover, affecting population viability at the extreme of the distribution. Growth rates, body size, and life span of O. tetricus were examined at the leading edge of a polewards range shift in Tasmanian waters (40°S and 147°E) throughout 2011. Octopus tetricus had a relatively small body size and short lifespan of approximately 11 months that, despite cooler temperatures, would allow a high rate of population turnover and may facilitate the population increase necessary for successful establishment in the new extended area of the range. Temperature, food availability and gender appear to influence growth rate. Individuals that hatched during cooler and more productive conditions, but grew during warming conditions, exhibited faster growth rates and reached smaller body sizes than individuals that hatched into warmer waters but grew during cooling conditions. This study suggests that fast growth, small body size and associated rapid population turnover may facilitate the range shift of O. tetricus into Tasmanian waters.     

A pertussis toxin-sensitive G-protein mediates some aspects of insulin action in BC3H-1 murine myocytes.

The involvement of G-proteins in the insulin signal transduction system has been studied in detail using the murine BC3H-1 myocyte system. Pertussis toxin (PT) treatment, previously shown to attenuate some of the metabolic effects of insulin in this cell line (Luttrell, L.M., Hewlett, E.L., Romero, G., and Rogol, A.D. (1988) J. Biol. Chem. 263, 6134-6141), abolished insulin-induced generation of diacylglycerol and inositolglycan mediators with no effects on either the autophosphorylation of the insulin receptor or the phosphorylation of the major endogenous substrates for insulin-stimulated tyrosine kinase activity (pp185 and pp42-45). In vitro ADP-ribosylation and immunoblotting studies suggest that the major PT substrate is a 40-kDa protein of the G alpha family. This protein band did not exhibit detectable tyrosine phosphorylation upon stimulation of either intact cells or cell membranes with insulin. In the presence of low concentrations of GTP, insulin treatment of isolated myocyte plasma membranes resulted in a small (30-40%) but significant stimulation of GTP hydrolysis. This effect was best observed in the presence of small concentrations of sodium dodecyl sulfate. The rate of guanosine 5'-O-(3-thiotriphosphate) (GTP gamma S) binding to BC3H-1 membranes was also significantly increased in the presence of insulin. The effects of insulin on GTP hydrolysis and GTP gamma S binding were found to be dependent on the concentration of insulin. These effects were not detected in plasma membranes prepared from PT-pretreated BC3H-1 myocytes. In contrast, pretreatment with the B (inactive) subunit of PT did not alter the response of myocyte membranes to insulin. High affinity binding of [125I]iodoinsulin to myocyte plasma membranes was reduced by 60-70% in the presence of guanine nucleotides. Similar effects on insulin binding were produced by PT pretreatment of the cells. In contrast, adenine nucleotides had no effect on insulin binding. Scatchard analysis of the binding data showed that the observed effects of guanine nucleotides and PT on insulin binding resulted either from a reduction in the number of high affinity insulin binding sites or from a significant reduction of the affinity of insulin for its receptor. Low affinity binding sites did not appear to be affected by either guanine nucleotides nor PT pretreatment. These results provide substantial evidence suggestive of a noncovalent interaction between the insulin receptor and a regulatory G-protein system during the process of insulin signaling.