Coevolved crypts and exocrine glands support mutualistic bacteria in fungus-growing ants

Attine ants engage in a quadripartite symbiosis with fungi they cultivate for food, specialized garden parasites, and parasite-inhibiting bacteria. Molecular phylogenetic evidence supports an ancient host-pathogen association between the ant-cultivar mutualism and the garden parasite. Here we show that ants rear the antibiotic-producing bacteria in elaborate cuticular crypts, supported by unique exocrine glands, and that these structures have been highly modified across the ants' evolutionary history. This specialized structural evolution, together with the absence of these bacteria and modifications in other ant genera that do not grow fungus, indicate that the bacteria have an ancient and coevolved association with the ants, their fungal cultivar, and the garden parasite.     

Preliminary results of differentiating apple sports by pollen ultrastructure

The pollen grain surface morphology of two Red Delicious apple (Malus × domestica Borkh.) sports, Aversang and Ultrared, and two Gala apple sports, Galalea and Splenola, were examined using scanning electron microscopy for genotype differentiation. Quantitative data on pollen dimensions, ridge patterns, and pore dimensions were extracted from micrographs using image analysis. Data were examined with analysis of variance, canonical variate analysis, and discriminant analysis in order to differentiate genotypes. The combination of image analysis to extract quantitative data and multivariate analysis was successful in differentiating apple sports with exine pore and pollen grain measurements. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

High Embryonic Recovery Rates with In vivo and Ex vivo Techniques in the Bitch

The embryonic collection techniques in dogs present a vast methodological variation and low recovery rates. The objectives were to compare and describe two techniques as to the recovery of canine embryos, on the 12th day after the first mating or artificial insemination. Embryos were recovered through uterine horn flushing in vivo, before performing the ovariohysterectomy (OHE) (Group 1; n = 9) or ex vivo, immediately after the OHE (Group 2; n = 9). In total, 43 and 47 embryonic structures were recovered in Groups 1 and 2, respectively. There was no significant difference (p > 0.05) between groups on recovery rates (72.8% and 81.0%, respectively). We inferred that both in vivo and ex vivo techniques allow a high rate of embryonic recovery; in the collection technique prior to the OHE, it is essential to carefully handle the reproductive system during the trans‐surgical period and that the 12th day (D12) after the first mating/artificial insemination is an efficient option for the high recovery rate of morulae and blastocysts.     

Novel antioxidant reactions of cinnamates in wine

Plant-derived polyphenolic compounds have received much attention for their ability to sequester high-energy free radicals in a great variety of food-related and biological systems, protecting those systems from oxidative change. The ability of these compounds to scavenge free radicals has always been attributed to their phenolic functionality, from which a hydrogen atom can be easily abstracted. In this study, the cinnamates and the ubiquitous hydroxycinnamates were found to equally suppress the formation of oxidation products in wine exposed to the Fenton reaction (catalytic Fe(II) with hydrogen peroxide). Mechanistic investigations led to the unexpected discovery that the α,β-unsaturated side chain of cinnamic acids could efficiently trap 1-hydroxyethyl radicals, representing a newly discovered mode of antioxidant radical scavenging activity for these broadly occurring compounds in a food system. The proposed pathway is supported by prior fundamental studies with radiolytically generated radicals.     

Global-scale similarities in nitrogen release patterns during long-term decomposition

Litter decomposition provides the primary source of mineral nitrogen (N) for biological activity in most terrestrial ecosystems. A 10-year decomposition experiment in 21 sites from seven biomes found that net N release from leaf litter is dominantly driven by the initial tissue N concentration and mass remaining regardless of climate, edaphic conditions, or biota. Arid grasslands exposed to high ultraviolet radiation were an exception, where net N release was insensitive to initial N. Roots released N linearly with decomposition and exhibited little net N immobilization. We suggest that fundamental constraints on decomposer physiologies lead to predictable global-scale patterns in net N release during decomposition.     

Brain adenosine triphosphate: decreased concentration precedes convulsions

The concentration of adenosine triphosphate in the brain decreased before the onset of generalized convulsions in unanesthetized rats subjected to acute hypoxia or treated with hydroxylamine or pentylenetetrazole (Metrazol). As the convulsive episode continued, adenosine triphosphate decreased further. Stimulation of adenosine triphosphate production forestalled its disappearance from the brain and delayed the development of seizure activity.