Pulling or drilling, does size or species matter? An experimental study of prey handling in Octopus dierythraeus ()

The influence of both predator and prey size on the shift from a pulling to a drilling predatory response was examined in the intertidal octopus Octopus dierythraeus, using an experimental program. Additionally, selective drilling, where particular regions of the prey are targeted, was examined for a variety of bivalve and gastropod prey. O. dierythraeus always initially attempted to pull bivalves apart. Shells that were eventually drilled were always subjected to significantly more pulling attempts than those that could be pulled apart, indicating that octopus are willing to expend more energy to access the flesh quickly. There was no defined threshold where bivalve size caused an octopus to switch from a pulling to a drilling response. Instead, there was a broad size range where the octopus could adopt either handling method and it varied for each individual. Octopus may only able to pull open bivalves before the molecular ratchet or ‘catch’ mechanism that many bivalves possess is engaged. This might explain the lack of a relationship between either octopus or bivalve size and the success of pulling, as it is likely that when the bivalves were presented to individual octopus they were either setting the ‘catch’ mechanism, or had already engaged it. O. dierythraeus demonstrated selective drilling on a variety of molluscan prey, with penetration sites differing between prey species. O. dierythraeus targeted the valve periphery, which was the thinnest part of the shell, therefore minimizing handling time. O. dierythraeus always drilled gastropods, but did not target the thinnest regions of the shells, with drill site varying according to the morphology of the prey. Elongate species with pronounced aperture lips were drilled in the apical region, close to the columella on the side of the opercula whereas nonelongate species were drilled immediately above the aperture. The location of drilling sites may represent a trade-off between targeting the most effective places to inject paralyzing secretions and the mechanically simplest places to drill.     

Histamine receptor effects on dissipation of an intracellular proton gradient of isolated gastric mucosal surface cells

The effects of histamine and several H1 and H2 receptor agents on Na+/H+ and Cl-/HCO-3 exchange systems of isolated gastric mucosal surface cells were studied. The cells were acid-loaded by the NH4Cl prepulse technique and the spontaneous Na+- and HCO-3-induced dissipation of the intracellular proton gradient (pHi) was followed using the metachromatic dye acridine orange. Histamine (10(-2-5) M) stimulates HCO-3-induced dissipation of the pHi but has no effect on Na+-induced or spontaneous dissipation. The H1 agonist 2-(2-aminoethyl)pyridine and the H2 agonist dimaprit also have no effect on Na+-induced or spontaneous pHi dissipation. However, both of these agents mimic the effect of histamine on HCO-3-induced dissipation, but only at a higher concentration (10(-3) M). The combination of 2-(2-aminoethyl)pyridine and dimaprit produces a histamine-like effect at lower concentrations (10(-5) and 10(-4) M). The effects of histamine are blocked by either the H1 antagonists diphenhydramine and pyrilamine or the H2 antagonists cimetidine and SKF 93479. The results suggest that the effect of histamine on HCO-3-induced dissipation of a pHi in gastric mucosal surface cells is mediated through a coordinated mechanism involving both H1 and H2 receptor sites.     

The molecular basis for rRNA-dependent spectinomycin resistance in Nicotiana chloroplasts

The chloroplast genes coding for the 16S ribosomal RNA from several spectinomycin-resistant Nicotiana mutants were analyzed. Two classes of mutants were identified. In one class, a G to A base transition is found at position 1140 of the tobacco-chloroplast 16S rRNA gene, which eliminates an AatII restriction endonuclease site. This base transition is proximal to a mutation previously described for spectinomycin resistance in Escherichia coli. In the other class, a novel G to A transition is found at position 1012 of the 16S rRNA gene. Although the mutations in the two classes are 128 nucleotides apart, the secondary structure model for 16S rRNA suggests that the two mutated nucleotides are in spatial proximity on opposite sides of a conserved stem structure in the 3' region of the molecule. Phylogenetic evidence is presented linking this conserved stem with spectinomycin resistance in chloroplasts. Perturbation of the stem is proposed to be the molecular-genetic basis for rRNA-dependent spectinomycin resistance.