The Tryptophan Contents of Wheat, Maize and Barley Grains as a Function of Nitrogen Content

The tryptophan contents of wheat, maize and barley grains were evaluated for samples originating from commercial and experimental cultivars, using a procedure that allowed the true quantity of this amino acid to be determined. For every cereal, a linear relationship was found between the level of tryptophan and the nitrogen (N) content of the grain. The results showed that previous reports of similar relationships underestimated tryptophan by 10 ± 5%, owing to tryptophan degradation during alkaline hydrolysis prior to analysis. Linear relationships between tryptophan and N have a low predictive value, however, since a high variability was observed in tryptophan content for any given grain nitrogen content.     

ATP-driven exchange of histone H2AZ variant catalyzed by SWR1 chromatin remodeling complex

The conserved histone variant H2AZ has an important role in the regulation of gene expression and the establishment of a buffer to the spread of silent heterochromatin. How histone variants such as H2AZ are incorporated into nucleosomes has been obscure. We have found that Swr1, a Swi2/Snf2-related adenosine triphosphatase, is the catalytic core of a multisubunit, histone-variant exchanger that efficiently replaces conventional histone H2A with histone H2AZ in nucleosome arrays. Swr1 is required for the deposition of histone H2AZ at specific chromosome locations in vivo, and Swr1 and H2AZ commonly regulate a subset of yeast genes. These findings define a previously unknown role for the adenosine triphosphate-dependent chromatin remodeling machinery.     

Spatial Response of Mammals to Late Quaternary Environmental Fluctuations

Analyses of fossil mammal faunas from 2945 localities in the United States demonstrate that the geographic ranges of individual species shifted at different times, in different directions, and at different rates in response to late Quaternary environmental fluctuations. The geographic pattern of faunal provinces was similar for the late Pleistocene and late Holocene, but differing environmental gradients resulted in dissimilar species composition for these biogeographic regions. Modern community patterns emerged only in the last few thousand years, and many late Pleistocene communities do not have modern analogs. Faunal heterogeneity was greater in the late Pleistocene.     

Mesoscale eddies drive increased silica export in the subtropical Pacific Ocean

Mesoscale eddies may play a critical role in ocean biogeochemistry by increasing nutrient supply, primary production, and efficiency of the biological pump, that is, the ratio of carbon export to primary production in otherwise nutrient-deficient waters. We examined a diatom bloom within a cold-core cyclonic eddy off Hawaii. Eddy primary production, community biomass, and size composition were markedly enhanced but had little effect on the carbon export ratio. Instead, the system functioned as a selective silica pump. Strong trophic coupling and inefficient organic export may be general characteristics of community perturbation responses in the warm waters of the Pacific Ocean.     

Role of Gene Interactions in Hybrid Speciation: Evidence from Ancient and Experimental Hybrids

The origin of a new diploid species by means of hybridization requires the successful merger of differentiated parental species' genomes. To study this process, the genomic composition of three experimentally synthesized hybrid lineages was compared with that of an ancient hybrid species. The genomic composition of the synthesized and ancient hybrids was concordant (rs = 0.68, P < 0.0001), indicating that selection to a large extent governs hybrid species formation. Further, nonrandom rates of introgression and significant associations among unlinked markers in each of the three synthesized hybrid lineages imply that interactions between coadapted parental species' genes constrain the genomic composition of hybrid species.     

Improved Method for Isolating and Quantitating α‐Amino Nitrogen as Nonprotein,True Protein,Salt‐Soluble Proteins,Zeins, and True Glutelins in Maize Endosperm

The conventional Landry‐Moureaux method for selective extraction of maize proteins was modified by reducing the contact time of meal with extractants and by removing 55% 2‐propanol as extractant. The new procedure, coupled with a method for quantitating protein at microgram level, was used for assessing the nitrogen distribution of four soluble protein fractions present in 100‐mg samples of endosperm originating from six maize inbreds and opaque‐2 versions. Proteins extracted with 55% 2‐propanol plus reductant were made up of α‐, β‐, γ‐, and δ‐zeins. Proteins extracted subsequently with salt plus reductant were minor and poor in lysine (1 mol%).They were associated with zeins. Comparison of present data with those available in the literature showed a close similarity for a given genotype between the percentage of total α‐amino nitrogen extracted by 2‐propanol plus reductant than by salt plus reductant under conditions of the modified procedure and that of total Kjeldhal nitrogen extracted by 2‐propanol with and without reductant, and by salt plus reductant, using the conventional procedure. A simplified protocol was described and tested for isolating and quantitating α‐amino nitrogen as nonprotein, true protein, salt‐soluble proteins, zeins, and true glutelins in any sample of maize endosperm.