Evaluation of Methods for Determining In Vivo Digestion Coefficients for Adult Red Swamp Crayfish Procambarus clarkii

Adult red swamp crayfish ( Procambarus clarkii ) were held in fecal collection chambers and fed common feedstuffs isosubstituted in experimental diets. Apparent dry matter digestibility (ADMD) and apparent crude protein digestibility (ACPD) coefficients were determined by the total collection and indicator (chromic oxide) methods. Feedstuffs tested were menhaden fish meal, soybean meal, alpha-soy protein, casein, gelatin, wheat bran, rice bran, wheat gluten, shrimp meal, crab chitin, cellulose, squid meal, corn starch and diatomaceous sand. Rate of consumption of plant feedstuffs was generally higher than feedstuffs of animal origin. Consumption of fish meal and shrimp meal was low (0.59 and 0.44% body weightlday, respectively). Fecal chromium concentrations were lower than chromium concentrations of experimental diets and precluded calculation of realistic coefficients by the indicator method. Analysis of refused feed samples indicated that crayfish did not consume the indicator in the same proportion as the remainder of the diet; therefore, the total collection method was judged the better approach to determining digestion coefficients. ADMD and ACPD coefficients of plant feedstuffs were generally higher than coefficients determined for animal feedstuffs. ADMD coefficients indicated substantial carbohydrate digestion by crayfish.     

The colorado plateaus: cultural dynamics and paleoenvironment

Convergent archeological, geological, palynological, dendrochronological, and radiometric data provide a paleoenvironmental record for the American Southwest at a level of detail and time resolution not previously achieved. Many prehistoric cultural and demographic changes on the Colorado Plateaus coincided with environmental fluctuations defined by precisely dated geoclimatic and bioclimatic indicators. These coincidences support the interpretation that socioeconomic changes and population displacements were commonly triggered by environmental stress.     

Breaching by a new strain of Leptosphaeria maculans of anatomical barriers in cotyledons of Brassica napus cultivar Surpass 400 with resistance based on a single dominant gene

Infection processes were examined to investigate the breach by a strain of Leptosphaeria maculans of anatomical barriers in cv. Surpass 400, a cultivar containing single dominant gene-based resistance (SDGBR). Two strains, UWA 192 and UWA P11, were used to inoculate cvs. Surpass 400 and Westar. The pre-penetration and penetration behaviour of both strains was similar in both cultivars. However, they differed significantly after penetration. When UWA P11 infected cv. Surpass 400 through stomata, guard cells rapidly died within a few hours and the surrounding mesophyll cells became necrotic, constituting a hypersensitive reaction (HR). Hyphal growth continued, albeit slowly, through the intercellular palisade mesophyll and spongy mesophyll spaces, but hyphae rarely spread beyond the HR region, and did not sporulate. Polyphenolic compounds accumulated in the area bordering the HR. However, when UWA 192 infected through stomata, symptoms were not evident until 10–12 days postinoculation (dpi) and were typically characterized by pale tan to grey circular lesions in which abundant pycnidia were produced by 14 dpi. Subsequently, hyphae extensively spread beyond the lesion border, reaching the veins and progressing down the petiole towards the stem. Where the SDGBR remained effective (i.e. against strain UWA P11) death of cells was restricted to a few palisade cells within the HR, even though hyphae were present in the lower tissue layers of the cotyledon. In contrast, where the SDGBR was not present (cv. Westar) or was overcome (cv. Surpass 400 with UWA 192), extensive death of epidermal and upper and lower palisade cells occurred throughout infected areas of the cotyledon, with subsequent abundant production of pycnidia. Polyphenolic compounds, which are also associated with resistance, did not accumulate in this instance. It was evident that the ability of the host to instigate the HR mechanism displayed by cv. Surpass 400 was lost with UWA 192 resulting in a “normal” susceptible response. This is the first study of the specific processes involved in the breaching of the HR in cv. Surpass 400.     

Expression of leptin mRNA and CCAAT-enhancer binding proteins in response to insulin deprivation during preadipocyte differentiation in primary cultures of porcine stromal-vascular cells

The aim of this study was to examine the correlation between CCAAT-enhancer binding proteins (C/EBPs) and leptin gene expression in response to insulin deprivation in preadipocytes and adipocytes. Adipose tissue from 7 d-old pigs was digested enzymatically and stromal-vascular (S-V) cells were seeded and plated for 3 d in fetal bovine serum (FBS) with dexamethasone (DEX) followed by 6 d (Days 3–9) in serum-free medium with insulin (850 nM or 10 nM), transferrin, and selenium. During FBS+DEX treatment (Days 0–3) a large number of preadipocytes develop with no lipid accretion. In contrast, preadipocyte number does not change with lipid accretion during insulin treatment (Days 3–9). Total RNA and cells were harvested from S-V cultures after periods with and without insulin after FBS+DEX. Northern-blotting and Western blot analysis were used to study leptin mRNA and C/EBP protein expression in cultures, respectively. Insulin deprivation from Days 3–4 reduced leptin mRNA and C/EBP- protein expression. Treatment with 850 nM or 10 nM insulin from Days 3–9 induced leptin mRNA and C/EBP- expression at a similar level. In cultures treated with 10 nM insulin from Days 3–7, leptin and C/EBP- expression were reduced markedly by insulin deprivation from Days 7–9, but were restored by insulin treatment for 6 hr before harvesting. The restoration of leptin expression by insulin was blocked by cycloheximide treatment. However, C/EBP-β protein levels did not change regardless of insulin deprivation. Insulin deprivation from Days 7–9 in cultures treated with 850 nM insulin from Days 3–7 did not influence C/EBP- or leptin mRNA expression, whereas C/EBP- and leptin expression were reduced after treating these cultures with 1.5 uM okadaic acid for 45 min before harvesting on Day 9. However, cycloheximide treatment for 6 hr before harvesting did not reduce leptin mRNA expression. These results suggest that 1) leptin expression is positively correlated with C/EBP- expression, and 2) the maintenance of leptin expression after insulin deprivation in 850 nM insulin-treated cultures on Day 9 may be associated with the presence of C/EBP- expression and/or activation.     

Conservation of the white-tailed rat in south Africa

Attention is drawn to the distributional and numerical status of the white-tailed rat Mystromys albicaudatus, an endemic South Africanrodent which may be in need of conservation. White-tailed rats have been recorded in at least three nature reserves in the Transvaal, in what is possibly marginal habitat, but the species does not appear to be adequately protected in other parts of South Africa. Fourteen other rodent species occurring in South Africa, and possibly in need of conservation, are listed.