Erregungsübertragung von Riesenfasern auf Motoneurone bei der SchabePeriplaneta americana L.

Summary The spike-frequency in a motor fibre of the 5th leg nerve ofPeriplaneta americana L. is shown to be approximately stable for several hours. It can be increased by electrical stimulation of the thoracic or the abdominal nerve cord or of the homolateral cercal nerves.     

Transplanted leg imaginal discs establish nerve connections with the appropriate neuromeres of the host's thoracic ganglion in the flySarcophaga bullata

Summary Ectopic transplantations of prothoracic leg imaginal discs of mature 3rd instar larvae ofSarcophaga bullata on to young prepupae resulted in the development of supernumerary legs. The nerves that connected these legs with the host's CNS projected in the appropriate neuromere of the thoracico-abdominal ganglion.Supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.     

The peripheral innervation of the heart ofEledone moschata demonstrated by histofluorescence microscopy

Summary A fluorescence histochemical investigation of the cardiac nerves ofEledone moschata has demonstrated that they contain catecholamines. This suggests that the cephalopod heart is supplied by a double innervation, where cholinergic and aminergic mechanisms work antagonistically. This is similar to the vertebrate cardiac innervation and therefore represents a convergent evolution.     

Effects of ingested phytoecdysteroids in the female soft tickOrnithodoros moubata

The effects of the ingestion of some phytoecdysteroids were studied in the soft tickOrnithodoros moubata. Supernumerary moulting and malformations of first leg pairs were obtained with 22-oxo-20-hydroxyecdysone, 20-hydroxyecdysone-22-acetate, and 20-hydroxyecdysone-22-benzoate. Egg-yield was reduced with 20-hydroxyecdysone-22-acetate and carthamosterone. Finally, drying-out of eggs was observed with carthamosterone and 22-deoxy-20,26-dihydroxyecdysone. In addition, we demonstrated that there is a correlation between the number of completed gonotrophic cycles and the impossibility of inducing supernumerary moulting.     

Vagal afferent innervation of the pylorus and the upper small intestine studied in the rat with the horseradish peroxidase technique

The neuronal tracer horseradish peroxidase was injected into different segments of the gastrointestinal in the rat, in order to study the vagal afferent innervation. In the nodose ganglia the extent of labeling was greater in the experiments on the gastric antrum and pylorus than in the experiments on the first part of the small intestine. Vagal afferents are scarce in the upper duodenum and originate mainly from the left nodose ganglion.     

Vagal afferent innervation of the pylorus and the uper small intestine studied in the rat with the horseradish peroxidase technique

Summary The neuronal tracer horseradish peroxidase was injected into different segments of the gastrointestinal in the rat, in order to study the vagal afferent innervation. In the nodose ganglia the extent of labeling was greater in the experiments on the gastric antrum and pylorus than in the experiments on the first part of the small intestine. Vagal afferents are scarce in the upper doudenum and originate mainly from the left nodose ganglion.     

Comparing peripheral glial cell differentiation in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Drosophila</Emphasis> and vertebrates

In all complex organisms, the peripheral nerves ensure the portage of information from the periphery to central computing and back again. Axons are in part amazingly long and are accompanied by several different glial cell types. These peripheral glial cells ensure electrical conductance, most likely nuture the long axon, and establish and maintain a barrier towards extracellular body fluids. Recent work has revealed a surprisingly similar organization of peripheral nerves of vertebrates and Drosophila. Thus, the genetic dissection of glial differentiation in Drosophila may also advance our understanding of basic principles underlying the development of peripheral nerves in vertebrates.     

Radial skeletal dissolution to promote vegetative reproduction in a solitary coralDiaseris distorta

The solitary, free-living coralDiaseris distorta (Michelin) (Fungiidae, Scleractinia) reproduces asexually by fragmentation along radially oriented slits. Localized skeletal dissolution, which can be recognized as white, opaque and chalky lines along the thecal wall between segments, ultimately results in autotomy. We suggest that the skeletal dissolution which dissolves the weakest part of the corallum for easy breakage, is a species-specific character.     

Is tubulin involved in the electrically-induced mechanical activity of the isolated rat sciatic nerve?

Summary The electrically-induced mechanical activity of isolated segments of rat sciatic nerves remains unaffected following incubation with 10^–4 M colchicine, vinblastine or melatonin. Vinblastine depressed tubulin levels in incubated nerves. These results suggest that microtubules are not involved in nerve mechanical activity in vitro.This work was supported by grant No. 6638 from the CONICET (Argentina). It is dedicated to the memory of C.E. Valenti, decreased November 1979.     

Sur l'inhibition sélective des acétylcholinestérasesin vivo chez le chien

Summary 3318 CT [bis(piperidinométhylcoumaranyl-5) cetone diméthiodide] a compound recently synthesized byA. Funke andK. von Däniken, is shown to be a potent and selective inhibitor, bothin vitro andin vivo, of the blood acetyl-cholinesterase (AcChE) of the dog. It produces acetylcholinomimetic symptoms in the animal and sensitizes different responses to acetylcholine and to stimulation of cholinergic nerves without inhibiting the blood non-specific cholinesterase (XChE). However, the action of 3318 CT appears to be limited, both in nature and in intensity, when compared to that of prostigmine, although the latter substance is a less potent inhibitor of AcChEin vitro than is 3318 CT. This difference is probably related to many factors, one of which may be the fact that prostigmine inhibits not only AcChE but also XChE; and it is not yet ascertained that XChE plays no role at all in the limitation of the effect of the stimulations of cholinergic nerves.     

Distribution of bilateral dorsal root potentials evoked by volleys in afferents entering lumbar and sacral segments of the spinal cord

Ipsilateral dorsal root potentials evoked by volleys entering lumbar and sacral segments of the cord are largest at the level of entry of afferent volleys. Contralateral potentials resulting from stimulation of any of these nerves attain maximum amplitude in lower sacral and upper caudal segments.     

Wirkung der Glutaminsäure auf die experimentelle Isoniazid-Schädigung peripherer Nerven bei Ratten

Summary Glutamic acid does not, either in small or in large doses, inhibit the degeneration of the medullary sheath of peripheral nerves in rats, induced within 15 days by addition of 0.25% of isoniazid to their diet. The detoxicating effect of glutamic acid, as described byCedrangolo ¹, thus only applies to the general toxic symptoms of the acute INH-intoxication, as is the case for vitamins B₂, B₁₂, A, E, K, and niacinamide.     

Distribution of bilateral dorsal root potentials evoked by volleys in afferents entering lumbar and sacral segments of the spinal cord

Summary Ipsilateral dorsal root potentials evoked by volleys entering lumbar and sacral segments of the cord are largest at the level of entry of afferent volleys. Contralateral potentials resulting from stimulation of any of these nerves attain maximum amplitude in lower sacral and upper caudal segments.     

Differences in chromosome A arrangement betweenDrosophila madeirensis andDrosophila subobscura

Summary The proximal half of the A (=X) chromosome ofD. madeirensis has a gene arrangement very similar to the A1 or A6 inversions found inD. subobscura. Polytene chromosome analysis of hybrids betweenD. madeirensis and strains ofD. subobscura homozygous for such inversions shows, however thatD. madeirensis has a gene arrangement different from any known forD. subobscura. These results provide evidence for a greater differentiation of the X chromosome in these species than has previously been described; it seems that the X chromosome is the only one that has undergone structural variation during the speciation process.     

Flavonoid profiles of certain species ofRhynchosia of the family Leguminosae (Fabaceae)

Summary A survey of seventy naturally occurring populations ofRhynchosia representing seven species of different subgenera revealed the occurrence of C-glycosides, O-glycosides, prenylated flavonoids and aglycones.Rhynchosia albiflora (R. cyanosperma) differs in gross morphological features and seed coat color and in its flavonoid composition from the other representative species ofRhynchosia.Acknowledgments. P. Ramachandraiah is grateful to U.G.C., New Delhi, for financial assistance.     

Pheromone components of the female elephant hawk-moth,Deilephila elpenor,and the silver-striped hawk-moth,Hippotion celerio

By means of gas chromatographic and mass spectroscopic methods, and combined GC-electroantennogram and electrosensillogram techniques, (E)-11-hexadecenal and (10E, 12E)-10,12-hexadecadienal [(E,E)-bombykal is also the main constituent of the pheromone of the silver-striped hawk-mothHippotion celerio. The biological activity of the substances was demonstrated with electroantennogram and single cell recording, and the physiological efficacy of the different hexadecadienal isomers compared.Pheromones, 79; as Pheromones, 78 is taken: Wu, Cai-Hong, and Bestmann, H. J., Chinese Science Bulletin34 (1989) 1475; pheromones, 77: Attygalle, A. B., Steghaus0Kovac, S., Ahmed, V. U., Maschwitz, U., Vostrowsky, Ol, and Bestmann, H. J., Naturwissen-schaften78 (1991) 90.     

The regulatory peptide system of the large bowel in equine grass sickness

Summary In recent years, distinct changes in regulatory peptides have been found in a number of gastrointestinal diseases. Grass sickness is a fatal disease of horses for which the etiology has yet to be fully ascertained. In this study, the peptide-containing nerves and ganglionic and mucosal endocrine cells of the ileum, colon and rectum were investigated in horses with sub-acute or chronic grass sickness and compared with normal controls using immunocytochemistry, at both the light and electron microscopical levels, and radioimmunoassay. A substantial loss of both peptide-containing cells and nerves was found in all of the sick horses, particularly in the ileum. Electron microscopy revealed marked degeneration of nerves in the gut wall. fibers containing granules immunostained for substance P or VIP, using the immunogold staining technique, underwent extensive degranulation in grass sickness, with the formation of multiple vacuoles.Radioimmunoassay of peptide content also showed that the most drastic changes occurred in the ileum. For example, VIP content was significantly reduced from 109±19.8 (mean±SEM) pmoles/g in controls to 6.8±1.4 pmoles/g in grass sickness (p<0.001) and substance P from 65.9±8.1 to 31.3±9.5 (p<0.02). These results may have applications in the diagnosis and treatment of grass sickness.The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Wellcome Trust and the Grass Sickness Fund.     

A new lysozyme from the eastern oyster (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Crassostrea virginica</Emphasis>) indicates adaptive evolution of <Emphasis Type="Italic">i</Emphasis>-type lysozymes

A new lysozyme (cv-lysozyme 2) with a MALDI molecular mass of 12 984.6 Da was purified from crystalline styles and digestive glands of eastern oysters (Crassostrea virginica) and its cDNA sequenced. Quantitative real time RT-PCR detected cv-lysozyme 2 gene expression primarily in digestive gland tissues, and in situ hybridization located cv-lysozyme 2 gene expression in basophil cells of digestive tubules. Cv-lysozyme 2 showed high amino acid sequence similarity to other bivalve mollusk lysozymes, including cv-lysozyme 1, a lysozyme recently purified from C. virginica plasma. Differences between cv-lysozyme 2 and cv-lysozyme 1 molecular characteristics, enzymatic properties, antibacterial activities, distribution in the oyster body and site of gene expression indicate that the main role of cv-lysozyme 2 is in digestion. While showing that a bivalve mollusk employs different lysozymes for different functions, findings in this study suggest adaptive evolution of i type lysozymes for nutrition. Received 30 August 2006; received after revision 14 October 2006; accepted 6 November 2006     

Distinction of influenza viruses of different host cell origin

Summary Influenza A viruses grown in different animal or human cells retain their antigenic make-up as tested by the usual immunological assays. With the aid of aSambucus nigra (L.) extract containing its lectins the viruses can be distinguished after one single passage in a different cell type by a change in their hemagglutinating properties. Binding of such lectins to influenza viruses may be a means for a more subtle classification, relating to the host cell origin of the virus.     

Pupation-temperature range in 12Drosophila species from different ecological backgrounds

Summary A comparison of pupation-temperature range was made in the laboratory on a temperature gradient (3–38°C) using 12 species ofDrosophila representing four species groups and four different ecological backgrounds (temperate-montane forest:virilis group; desert;repleta group; cosmopolitan:melanogaster group; tropical forest:willistoni group). Within groups, differences are found which usually reflect species' distributions. Comparisons of species' mating-, oviposition- and pupation-temperature ranges reveal that pupation most-often occurs at temperatures beyond those for mating and oviposition. Each species reflects a different combination of temperature effects. Individual species have different temperature-limits for mating, oviposition and pupation. Temperatures permissive for one response are not predictive of limits on other responses. Among species, temperature can affect a particular response differently. Within groups, species differences can be at high and/or low temperatures for any response, and temperature effects among closely related species can manifest themselves in one, or any combination of responses. One cannot predict which responses will be most and least limited, or at which end of the temperature scale a response will be most limited. Among groups,common, but notabsolute temperature ranges generally correspond to the geographic distributions and ecological backgrounds of the species triads. The evaluation of temperature effects on species, based on a single activity, may not be adequate for predicting adaptive strategies.