Balancing selection at the prion protein gene consistent with prehistoric kurulike epidemics

Kuru is an acquired prion disease largely restricted to the Fore linguistic group of the Papua New Guinea Highlands, which was transmitted during endocannibalistic feasts. Heterozygosity for a common polymorphism in the human prion protein gene (PRNP) confers relative resistance to prion diseases. Elderly survivors of the kuru epidemic, who had multiple exposures at mortuary feasts, are, in marked contrast to younger unexposed Fore, predominantly PRNP 129 heterozygotes. Kuru imposed strong balancing selection on the Fore, essentially eliminating PRNP 129 homozygotes. Worldwide PRNP haplotype diversity and coding allele frequencies suggest that strong balancing selection at this locus occurred during the evolution of modern humans.     

Wild-type nonneuronal cells extend survival of SOD1 mutant motor neurons in ALS mice

The most common inherited [correct] form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a neurodegenerative disease affecting adult motor neurons, is caused by dominant mutations in the ubiquitously expressed Cu-Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD1). In chimeric mice that are mixtures of normal and SOD1 mutant-expressing cells, toxicity to motor neurons is shown to require damage from mutant SOD1 acting within nonneuronal cells. Normal motor neurons in SOD1 mutant chimeras develop aspects of ALS pathology. Most important, nonneuronal cells that do not express mutant SOD1 delay degeneration and significantly extend survival of mutant-expressing motor neurons.     

Partial reversion in yeast: genetic evidence for a new type of bifunctional protein

Two kinds of phenotypic expression in purine biosynthesis result from recessive mutation to adel2 in baker's yeast. The mutants are adenine-specific, blocked in the conversion of inosine 5'-phosphate to adenylosuccinic acid; their response to inhibition of pathway activity by adenine is considerably reduced. Allelic partial reversions can restore prototrophy without correcting the regulatory defect imparted by the primary mutation. The separation of the two properties of the locus by allelic mutation supports the hypothesis that the locus specifies a protein of two independent functions, enzymatic and regulatory.     

Partial purification of an opiate receptor from mouse brain

A proteolipid isolated from a lipid extract of mouse brain demonstrates stereospecific binding properties for levorphanol. It is present only in neuronal tissue and most abundant in the rhombencephalon. One component saturates at a concentration corresponding to maximum pharmacologic effect in vivo. The estimated mass is 60,000 daltons per bound opiate molecule.     

Mechanism of the Zonal Displacements of the Pacific Warm Pool: Implications for ENSO

The western equatorial Pacific warm pool is subject to strong east-west migrations on interannual time scales in phase with the Southern Oscillation Index. The dominance of surface zonal advection in this migration is demonstrated with four different current data sets and three ocean models. The eastward advection of warm and less saline water from the western Pacific together with the westward advection of cold and more saline water from the central-eastern Pacific induces a convergence of water masses at the eastern edge of the warm pool and a well-defined salinity front. The location of this convergence is zonally displaced in association with El Nino-La Nina wind-driven surface current variations. These advective processes and water-mass convergences have significant implications for understanding and simulating coupled ocean-atmosphere interactions associated with El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO).     

Labyrinthine pattern formation in magnetic fluids

A quasi two-dimensional drop of a magnetic fluid (ferrofluid) in a magnetic field is one example of the many systems, including amphiphilic monolayers, thin magnetic films, and type I superconductors, that form labyrinthine patterns. The formation of the ferrofluid labyrinth was examined both experimentally and theoretically. Labyrinth formation was found to be sensitively dependent on initial conditions, indicative of a space of configurations having a vast number of local energy minima. Certain geometric characteristics of the labyrinths suggest that these multiple minima have nearly equivalent energies. Kinetic effects on pattern selection were found in studies of fingering in the presence of timedependent magnetic fields. The dynamics of this pattern formation was studied within a simple model that yields shape evolutions in qualitative agreement with experiment.     

Processes preventing nocturnal equilibration between leaf and soil water potential in tropical savanna woody species

The impact of nocturnal water loss and recharge of stem water storage on predawn disequilibrium between leaf (psiL) and soil (psiS) water potentials was studied in three dominant tropical savanna woody species in central Brazil (Cerrado). Sap flow continued throughout the night during the dry season and contributed from 13 to 28% of total daily transpiration. During the dry season, psiL was substantially less negative in covered transpiring leaves, throughout the day and night, than in exposed leaves. Before dawn, differences in psiL between covered and exposed leaves were about 0.4 MPa. When relationships between sap flow and psiL of exposed leaves were extrapolated to zero flow, the resulting values of psiL (a proxy of weighted mean soil water potential) in two of the species were similar to predawn values of covered leaves. Consistent with substantial nocturnal sap flow, stomatal conductance (gs) never dropped below 40 mmol m(-2) s(-1) at night, and in some cases, rose to as much as 100 mmol m(-2) s(-1) before the end of the dark period. Nocturnal gs decreased linearly with increasing air saturation deficit (D), but there were species-specific differences in the slopes of the relationships between nocturnal gs and D. Withdrawal and recharge of water from stem storage compartments were assessed by monitoring diel fluctuations of stem diameter with electronic dendrometers. Stem water storage compartments tended to recharge faster when nocturnal transpiration was reduced by covering the entire plant. Water potential of covered leaves did not stabilize in any of the plants before the end of the dark period, suggesting that, even in covered plants, water storage tissues were not fully rehydrated by dawn. Patterns of sap flow and expansion and contraction of stems reflected the dynamics of water movement during utilization and recharge of stem water storage tissues. This study showed that nighttime transpiration and recharge of internal water storage contribute to predawn disequilibrium in water potential between leaves and soil in neotropical savanna woody plants.     

Hydraulic redistribution of soil water by neotropical savanna trees

The magnitude and direction of water transport by the roots of eight dominant Brazilian savanna (Cerrado) woody species were determined with a heat pulse system that allowed bidirectional measurements of sap flow. The patterns of sap flow observed during the dry season in species with dimorphic root systems were consistent with the occurrence of hydraulic redistribution of soil water, the movement of water from moist to drier regions of the soil profile via plant roots. In these species, shallow roots exhibited positive sap flow (from the soil into the plant) during the day and negative sap flow (from the plant into the soil) during the night. Sap flow in the taproots was positive throughout the 24-h period. Diel fluctuations in soil water potential, with maximum values occurring at night, provided evidence for partial rewetting of upper soil layers by water released from shallow roots. In other species, shallow roots exhibited negative sap flow during both the day and night, indicating that hydraulic redistribution was occurring continuously. A third sap flow pattern was observed at the end of the dry season after a heavy rainfall event when sap flow became negative in the taproot, and positive in the small roots, indicating movement of water from upper soil layers into shallow roots, and then into taproots and deeper soil layers. Experimental manipulations employed to evaluate the response of hydraulic redistribution to changes in plant and environmental conditions included watering the soil surface above shallow roots, decreasing transpiration by covering the plant and cutting roots where probes were inserted. Natural and manipulated patterns of sap flow in roots and stems were consistent with passive movement of water toward competing sinks in the soil and plant. Because dry shallow soil layers were often a stronger sink than the shoot, we suggest that the presence of a dimorphic root system in deciduous species may play a role in facilitating leaf expansion near the end of the dry season when the soil surrounding shallow lateral roots is still dry.     

A comparison of three approaches to modeling leaf gas exchange in annually drought-stressed ponderosa pine forests

We tested, compared and modified three models of stomatal conductance at the leaf level in a forest ecosystem where drought stress is a major factor controlling forest productivity. The models were tested against 2 years (1999 and 2000) of leaf-level measurements on ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Dougl. ex Laws.) growing in the Mediterranean climate of California, USA. The Ball, Woodrow and Berry (1987) (BWB) model was modified to account for soil water stress. Among the models, results of the modified BWB model were in the closest agreement with observations (r2 = 0.71). The Jarvis (1976) model showed systematic simulation errors related to vapor pressure deficit (r2 = 0.65). Results of the Williams, Rastetter, Fernandes et al. (1996) (SPA) model showed the poorest correlation with empirical data, but this model has only one calibration parameter (r2 = 0.60). Sensitivity analyses showed that, in all three models, predictions of stomatal conductance were most responsive to photosynthetically active radiation and soil water content. Stomatal conductance showed little sensitivity to vapor pressure deficit in the Jarvis model, whereas in both the BWB and SPA models, vapor pressure deficit (or relative humidity) was the third most important variable. Parameterization of the SPA model was in accordance with the parameterization of the modified BWB model, although the two models differ greatly. Measured and modeled results indicate that stomatal behavior is not water conservative during spring; however, during summer, when soil water content is low and vapor pressure deficit is high, stomatal conductance decreases and, according to the models, intrinsic water- use efficiency increases.