Divergence of species-specific protein sex pheromone blends in two related, nonhybridizing newts (Salamandridae).

In animals that use chemical communication during courtship and reproduction, speciation is often associated with divergence of their sex pheromones. In multicomponent pheromone systems, divergence can be obtained either by adding or deleting components, or by altering the relative contribution of individual components to the mixture. Protein pheromone systems can additionally evolve by amino acid sequence divergence to produce pheromones with a species-specific effect.

In Vitro Cryopreservation of Date Palm Caulogenic Meristems.

Cryopreservation is the technology of choice not only for plant genetic resource preservation but also for virus eradication and for the efficient management of large-scale micropropagation. In this chapter, we describe three cryopreservation protocols (standard vitrification, droplet vitrification, and encapsulation vitrification) for date palm highly proliferating meristems that are initiated from vitro-cultures using plant growth regulator-free MS medium. The positive impact of sucrose preculture and cold hardening treatments on survival rates is significant.

Side-by-side secretion of Late Palaeozoic diverged courtship pheromones in an aquatic salamander.

Males of the advanced salamanders (Salamandroidea) attain internal fertilization without a copulatory organ by depositing a spermatophore on the substrate in the environment, which females subsequently take up with their cloaca. The aquatically reproducing modern Eurasian newts (Salamandridae) have taken this to extremes, because most species do not display close physical contact during courtship, but instead largely rely on females following the male track at spermatophore deposition. Although pheromones have been widely assumed to represent an important aspect of male courtship, molecules able to induce the female following behaviour that is the prelude for successful insemination have not yet been identified.

Transference of function shapes organ identity in the dove tree inflorescence.

• An important evolutionary mechanism shaping the biodiversity of flowering plants is the transfer of function from one plant organ to another. To investigate whether and how transference of function is associated with the remodeling of the floral organ identity program we studied Davidia involucrata, a species with conspicuous, petaloid bracts subtending a contracted inflorescence with reduced flowers. • A detailed ontogeny enabled the interpretation of expression patterns of B-, C- and E-class homeotic MADS-box genes using qRT-PCR and in situ hybridization techniques.

Role of pseudopolymorphism on concentration dependent competitive adsorption at a liquid/solid interface.

We present for the first time a peculiar concentration effect on competitive adsorption of a binary mixture at the liquid/solid interface, which we attribute to the existence of pseudopolymorphism and its concentration dependence. These results are helpful for the understanding of phase behavior of multi-component systems at the interface.

To see in different seas: spatial variation in the rhodopsin gene of the sand goby (Pomatoschistus minutus).

Aquatic organisms living in a range of photic environments require specific mechanisms to tune their visual pigments. Maximum absorbance (lambda(max)) of retinal rods in populations of the marine demersal sand goby, (Pomatoschistus minutus; Gobiidae, Teleostei) correlates with the local optic environment. It has been shown that this is not regulated through a physiological response by exchanging the rhodopsin chromophore.

ADAM10, the rate-limiting protease of regulated intramembrane proteolysis of Notch and other proteins, is processed by ADAMS-9, ADAMS-15, and the gamma-secretase.

ADAM10 is involved in the proteolytic processing and shedding of proteins such as the amyloid precursor protein (APP), cadherins, and the Notch receptors, thereby initiating the regulated intramembrane proteolysis (RIP) of these proteins. Here, we demonstrate that the sheddase ADAM10 is also subject to RIP. We identify ADAM9 and -15 as the proteases responsible for releasing the ADAM10 ectodomain, and Presenilin/gamma-Secretase as the protease responsible for the release of the ADAM10 intracellular domain (ICD).

Assessment of Evapotranspiration and Soil Moisture Content Across Different Scales of Observation.

The proper assessment of evapotranspiration and soil moisture content arefundamental in food security research, land management, pollution detection, nutrient flows,(wild-) fire detection, (desert) locust, carbon balance as well as hydrological modelling; etc.This paper takes an extensive, though not exhaustive sample of international scientificliterature to discuss different approaches to estimate land surface and ecosystem relatedevapotranspiration and soil moisture content. This review presents:(i) a summary of the generally accepted cohesion theory of plant water uptake andtransport including a shortlist of meteorological and plant factors influencing planttranspiration;(ii) a summary on evapotranspiration assessment at different scales of observation (sapflow,porometer, lysimeter, field and catchment water balance, Bowen ratio,scintillometer, eddy correlation, Penman-Monteith and related approaches);(iii) a summary on data assimilation schemes conceived to estimate evapotranspirationusing optical and thermal remote sensing; and(iv) for soil moisture content, a summary on soil moisture retrieval techniques atdifferent spatial and temporal scales is presented.

STM, STS and Bias-Dependent Imaging on Organic Monolayers at the Solid-Liquid Interface.

This chapter deals with various aspects of scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS) and in particularit reviews STS investigations on organic films. Though this chapter addresses in particular thosesystems which have been probed under ambient conditions and at the solid-liquid interface, a significantpart deals with studies under UHV conditions. Some key principles of STS are highlighted and variousmolecular systems are reviewed, ranging from prototypical dyes or conjugated systems such as phthalocyanines,over conjugated polymers and multi-component covalent and non-covalent systems.

Angiotensin II-stimulated collagen production in cardiac fibroblasts is mediated by reactive oxygen species.

Objective: The aim of the present study was to determine whether inhibition of reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (phosphate) [NAD(P)H] oxidase and of various superoxide generating systems could affect the collagen production, the mRNA and protein expression of collagen types I and III in control and angiotensin II-treated cardiac fibroblasts.

Methods: Cardiac fibroblasts from passage 2 from normal male adult rats were cultured to confluency and incubated in serum-free Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium for 24 h. The cells were then preincubated with(out) the tested inhibitors for 1 h and then further incubated with(out) angiotensin II (1 micromol/l) for 24 h.

Individualised, micro CT-based finite element modelling as a tool for biomechanical analysis related to tissue engineering of bone.

Load-bearing tissues, like bone, can be replaced by engineered tissues or tissue constructs. For the success of this treatment, a profound understanding is needed of the mechanical properties of both the native bone tissue and the construct. Also, the interaction between mechanical loading and bone regeneration and adaptation should be well understood.