The extreme longevity of Arctica islandica is associated with increased peroxidation resistance in mitochondrial membranes

The deleterious reactive carbonyls released upon oxidation of polyunsaturated fatty acids in biological membranes are believed to foster cellular aging. Comparative studies in mammals and birds have shown that the susceptibility to peroxidation of membrane lipids peroxidation index (PI) is negatively correlated with longevity. Long‐living marine molluscs are increasingly studied as longevity models, and the presence of different types of lipids in the membranes of these organisms raises questions on the existence of a PI–longevity relationship. We address this question by comparing the longest living metazoan species, the mud clam Arctica islandica (maximum reported longevity = 507 year) to four other sympatric bivalve molluscs greatly differing in longevity (28, 37, 92, and 106 year). We contrasted the acyl and alkenyl chain composition of phospholipids from the mitochondrial membranes of these species. The analysis was reproduced in parallel for a mix of other cell membranes to investigate whether a different PI–longevity relationship would be found. The mitochondrial membrane PI was found to have an exponential decrease with increasing longevity among species and is significantly lower for A. islandica. The PI of other cell membranes showed a linear decrease with increasing longevity among species and was also significantly lower for A. islandica. These results clearly demonstrate that the PI also decreases with increasing longevity in marine bivalves and that it decreases faster in the mitochondrial membrane than in other membranes in general. Furthermore, the particularly low PI values for A. islandica can partly explain this species’ extreme longevity.     

青海湖裸鲤体腔寄生蠕虫群落研究

青海湖裸鲤体腔为三种寄生蠕虫寄生,即裂头绦虫裂头蚴,舌状绦虫裂头蚴和对盲囊缄虫的三期幼虫,这几种蠕虫不同大小的青海湖裸鲤中数量差异很大,将其看作一个组分群落,并根据其发生数量进行模糊聚类和极点排序,结果将其分为二个亚组分群落,即体长小于１５０ｍｍ的青海湖裸鲤体腔蠕虫亚组分群落和体长大于１５０ｍｍ的个体的体腔蠕虫亚组分群落。这与宿主的行为和食性改变有密切关系,舌状绦虫与另两种蠕虫间有显著负协调关系。     

对Logistic增长的SIS模型实现反馈线性化和极点配置的一步设计

非线性系统极点配置状态反馈调节器的常用方法为两步设计,而且要求必须满足对合条件,对于一个高于二阶的实际系统很难满足这些严格的条件,精确线性化和极点配置一步设计的方法避免了严格的对合条件,本文将这种方法运用在非线性微分代数系统中,并将此法应用到生物系统上．     

fs(1)K10, a germline-dependent female sterile mutation causing abnormal chorion morphology inDrosophila melanogaster

Summary Females homozygous for a newly isolated mutation induced by ethyl methane sulphonate,fs(1)K10, lay abnormally shaped eggs in which the dorsal appendages of the chorion are enlarged and fused ventrally. The eggs are usually not fertilized and development is never normal beyond the blastoderm stage. The mutant was mapped to the tip of the X-chromosome with a meiotic position of 1–0.5 and a cytological location between 2B17 and 3A3. Using germ line mosaics constructed by transplantation of pole cells, it was shown that the abnormal morphology and the sterility are obtained only when the germ line is homozygous for the mutant.     

Furry Protein Promotes Aurora A-mediated Polo-like Kinase 1 Activation

Bipolar mitotic spindle organization is fundamental to faithful chromosome segregation. Furry (Fry) is an evolutionarily conserved protein implicated in cell division and morphology. In human cells, Fry localizes to centrosomes and spindle microtubules in early mitosis, and depletion of Fry causes multipolar spindle formation. However, it remains unknown how Fry controls bipolar spindle organization. This study demonstrates that Fry binds to polo-like kinase 1 (Plk1) through the polo-box domain of Plk1 in a manner dependent on the cyclin-dependent kinase 1-mediated Fry phosphorylation at Thr-2516. Fry also binds to Aurora A and promotes Plk1 activity by binding to the polo-box domain of Plk1 and by facilitating Aurora A-mediated Plk1 phosphorylation at Thr-210. Depletion of Fry causes centrosome and centriole splitting in mitotic spindles and reduces the kinase activity of Plk1 in mitotic cells and the accumulation of Thr-210-phosphorylated Plk1 at the spindle poles. Our results suggest that Fry plays a crucial role in the structural integrity of mitotic centrosomes and in the maintenance of spindle bipolarity by promoting Plk1 activity at the spindle poles in early mitosis.     

Periplast development in cryptophyceae I. Changes in periplast arrangement throughout the cell cycle

Summary The cell covering (or periplast) of many cryptomonads consists of discrete plate areas precisely arranged over most of the cell periphery. Developmental changes in periplast arrangement that occur throughout the cell cycle are examined here forKomma caudata andProteomonas sulcata [haplomorph]. In both cryptomonads, pole reversal occurs during cytokinesis, necessitating major realignment of the plate areas. Growth of the periplast occurs by addition of new plate areas to specialized regions (termed anamorphic zones) located around the vestibular margins and along the mid-ventral line of cells. Development of the periplast from these regions enables elongation and lateral expansion of cryptomonads throughout cell growth. Observed differences in cell division and periplast development between these genera are closely associated with variations in the arrangement of anamorphic zones.     

Heterospecific combinations of germ cells and gonadal soma betweenDrosophila melanogaster,D. mauritiana andD. ananassae

Summary We transplanted pole cells betweenDrosophila melanogaster, D. mauritiana andD. ananassae to investigate the ability of germ cells to develop in the gonad of a heterospecific host, and to study the interaction between somatic follicle cells and the cells of the germ line in producing the species-specific chorion. FemaleD. mauritiana germ cells in aD. melanogaster ovary produced functional eggs with normal development potential. The same is true for the reciprocal combination. FemaleD. ananassae pole cells in aD. melanogaster host only developed to a very early stage and degenerated afterwards. None of the interspecific combinations of male pole cells led to functional sperm. We could not determine at what stage the transplanted male pole cells were arrested. The cooperation of follicle cells and the oocyte-nurse cell complex in producing the chorion was studied using the germ-line-dependent mutationfs(1) K10 ofD. melanogaster, which causes fused respiratory appendages and an abnormal chorion morphology. Wild-type femaleD. mauritiana germ cells in a mutantfs(1) K10 D. melanogaster ovary led to the production of wild-type eggs withD. melanogaster-specific, short respiratory appendages. On the other hand,D. melanogaster fs(1) K10 germ cells in aD. mauritiana ovary induced the formation of eggs with mutant fused appendages which were, however, typicallyD. mauritiana in length. When.D. mauritiana pole cells developed in aD. melanogaster ovary, the chorion exhibited a new imprint pattern that differs from both species-specific patterns.     

Follicle cells and germ line cells both affect polarity in dicephalic chimeric follicles of Drosophila

Summary In aberrant egg follicles of the pattern mutant dicephalic (dic) the oocyte is wedged in between two groups of nurse cells, and this condition may give rise to embryos which express anterior traits at both ends. We have analysed the role of the dic genotype of the germ line cells and the surrounding somatic follicle cells in the formation of the dic follicular phenotype. By means of pole cell transplantations into Fs (1) K 1237 hosts (this cell-autonomous mutation causes degeneration of the host's germ line cells early in oogenesis), we constructed chimeras in which either the follicle cells, the germ line cells, or both were homozygous for the dic mutation. In all three combinations the dic phenotype was expressed but not in controls with dic ⁺ in both germ line cells and follicular epithelium. Since follicles with the dic phenotype may be produced if either the germ line cells or the follicle cells lack dic ⁺ gene activity we suggest that cellular interactions between both cell types are required for the correct positioning of the oocyte at the follicle's posterior pole.     

A clockwork mollusc: Ultradian rhythms in bivalve activity revealed by digital photography

Time-lapse digital images can be acquired and archived using web-cameras, allowing non-invasive analysis of behavior patterns of bivalve molluscs at ultradian (sub-daily) time-scales over long intervals. These records can be analyzed directly by a human operator or through properly calibrated image analysis software. Preliminary results using species of marine and freshwater bivalves identify several ultradian biological rhythms of similar duration. Wavelet analysis indicates strong periodicity in mantle and siphon activity in the 3 to 7 min range, with longer duration shell contraction periods at 60-90 min. The recurrence of these rhythms among marine and freshwater bivalve species maintained under constant (but differing) conditions suggests the influence of common intrinsic drivers (chemico-physical mechanisms or biological clocks). Sub-daily growth increments preserved in the shells of rapidly growing bivalve species are potentially related to these biological rhythms, with implications for shell growth, biomineralization, and the temporal resolution of paleoclimate proxy data.     

Involvement of DNA-dependent protein kinase in normal cell cycle progression through mitosis

The catalytic subunit of DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PKcs) plays an important role in DNA double-strand break (DSB) repair as the underlying mechanism of the non-homologous end joining pathway. When DSBs occur, DNA-PKcs is rapidly phosphorylated at both the Thr-2609 and Ser-2056 residues, and such phosphorylations are critical for DSB repair. In this study we report that, in addition to responding to DSBs, DNA-PKcs is activated and phosphorylated in normal cell cycle progression through mitosis. Mitotic induction of DNA-PKcs phosphorylation is closely associated with the spindle apparatus at centrosomes and kinetochores. Furthermore, depletion of DNA-PKcs protein levels or inhibition of DNA-PKcs kinase activity results in the delay of mitotic transition because of chromosome misalignment. These results demonstrate for the first time that DNA-PKcs, in addition to its role in DSB repair, is a critical regulator of mitosis and could modulate microtubule dynamics in chromosome segregation.