The phylogenetic status of phyllomedusine frogs (hylidae) as evidenced from immunological studies of their serum albumins

Summary Based on immunological comparisons of the serum albumins of phyllomedusine frogs with both hyline and bufonid species, it is suggested that phyllomedusine frogs be erected to familial status within the superfamily Bufonoidea.This study was initiated in the Department of Biochemistry, University of California, Berkeley. Part of this work was supported by NSF grant No. DEB75-23543The author gratefully acknowledges the helpful advice and discussion ofA. C. Wilson. Thanks are also due toD. Wake, H. Cogger, W. Duellman andR. Heyer for generously supplying frog samples.     

Methyllycaconitine,a naturally occurring insecticide with a high affinity for the insect cholinergic receptor

Summary Studies of extracts ofDelphinium seeds, long known to be insecticidal, revealed that a principal insecticidal toxin was methyllycaconitine, which is shown to be a potent inhibitor of -bungarotoxin binding to housefly heads (K_inh=2.5×10^–10±0.5×10^–10M).Calgary for gifts of MLA, citrate and lycoctonine, and Dr W. Bowers of the University of Arizona for the original extract ofDelphinium seeds. We would also like to acknowledge the able technical support of Ms C. Dushin, Mr E.L. Bowman, Dr C. C. Gagne, Mr R. F. Borysewicz and Dr P. Mowery for his assistance in obtaining and interpreting the carbon-13 NMR spectra.     

Phylogenetic relationship of the Brasilian leptodactylid frog generaCraspedoglossa,Cycloramphus andZachaenus

Summary Based on immunological comparisons of the serum albumins ofCraspedoglossa andZachaenus with antisera to albumin of several species ofCycloramphus, it is concluded that morphological and biochemical evolutionary rates have not been comparable within the study group. Taken together, the morphological and biochemical information demonstrate that whileZachaenus is a genetic member of theCycloramphus lineage, it has attained generic status.This study was supported by NSF grant No. DEB78-23396, the Amazon Ecosystem Research Program, Smithsonian Institution, the Fluid Research Fund, Smithsonian Institution, and the Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo.The authors gratefully acknowledge the following colleagues for their help in procuring frog samples: R.I. Crombie, M.C. Duchêne, F.I. McCullough, F.C. do Val and P.E. Vanzolini.     

Torus shaped bands at the 2R telomere region and at the region 68 of the salivary gland chromosomes ofDrosophila auraria

Summary The telomere of the 2R arm of the salivary gland chromosomes ofD. auraria exhibits a definite toroidal structure in routine squashed preparations, stained either by propionic orcein-carmine or by fluorescent dyes. There is evidence that a band (or bands) of region 68 (possibly homologous to that ofD. melanogaster) of the 3L chromosome arm also exhibits a toroidal structure. These toroids are associated with heterochromatin, but it is not certain that they are themselves heterochromatic.Acknowledgments. This work was supported by a grant from Volkswagenwerk-Stiftung to C.D.K. The outstanding technical assistance of Ms G. Karamanlidis is acknowledged.     

Electrical response of bat retina to spectral stimulation: comparison of four microchiropteran species

Summary Electrical responses of the retinas of 4 species of microchiropteran bats stimulated by spectrally restricted light flashes were found to diverge systematically from the rhodopsin absorption spectrum. The divergence was progressively greater across the 4 species. The results appeared explainable by assuming a second photoreceptor class and photopigment which was present in progressively greater numbers in the retinas ofEptesicus fuscus, Desmodus rotundus, Artibeus jamaicensis andCarollia perspicillata.This work was made possible by equipment provided by grant No. EY 01228 from the U.S.P.H.S., Bob Hope Fight for Sight award No. G 522 and a grant from Research to Prevent Blindness, Inc. Portions of this work were presented at the Fifth International Bat Research Conference, Albuquerque, New Mexico, August 11, 1978.The authors would like to express appreciation to Drs A.M. Potts, J. B. Longley, R. S. Crockett and T. G. Wheeler for helpful suggestions and to Drs J. H. Richardson, J. G. Cooper, L. Kundrotas, Mr B. Spoonamore and Mr W. Lopez-Forment for facilitating collection and importation of the Mexican bats.     

The chromosome banding patterns of the aardvarkOrycteropus afer (Tubulidentata,Orycteropidae)

Summary C- and G-banding patterns ofOrycteropus afer are described on the basis of fibroblast cultures obtained from a female individual.This work was supported in part by a research grant DEB 76-10580 from the National Science Foundation.     

Ecdysteroid titers during larval reproduction of the dipteran insectHeteropeza pygmae

Summary Ecdysteroid titers were measured in whole-body extracts of pedogenetically reproducing larvae of the dipteran insectHeteropeza pygmaea and in the dietary fungus. The titers are very low in the first 3 days of larval growth, but increase during the last 2 days. The level of 20-hydroxyecdysone is then significantly higher than that of ecdysone. Measurements of the titers in the fungus gave no conclusive results.Supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation, grants No. 3.218-0.77 to D.F.W. and 3.714-0.80 to B.L. We thank Xiang-Xiong Zhu for help with the RIA and Mrs G. Rhyner for technical assistance. Gifts of ecdysone antiserum from Dr J. D. O'Connor and of 23,24-[³H₂]-ecdysone from Dr J. Koolman are also gratefully acknowledged.     

Mating attempts between the Scarlet Tiger Moth,Callimorpha dominula L., and the Cinnabar Moth,Tyria jacobaeae L. (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae), involve a common sex pheromone composition

It has been suggested that a common sex pheromone composition may account for interspecific sexual interactions observed with certain moths in the Arctiidae. In this study, it is demonstrated that the sex pheromones released by females of the Scarlet Tiger Moth,Callimorpha dominula L., and the Cinnabar Moth,Tyria jacobaeae L., have similar activities and elute at the same retention time on analysis by coupled gas chromatography (GC)-electrophysiology with males from each species. Peak enhancement on GC, chiral GC and coupled GC-mass spectrometry using authentic compounds show that the sex pheromone for bothC. dominula andT. jacobaeae is (3Z,6Z,9S,10R)-9,10-epoxyheneicosa-3,6-diene.     

Fitness traits associated with the red back phenotype in the migratory grasshopper,Melanoplus sanguinipes

Summary The dominantly inherited variant, red back, in the migratory grasshopper,Melanoplus sanguinipes, is rare in nature. The present study illustrates that is this probably due, in part, to the trait's association (either through pleiotropy of the red back gene,Pro and/or closely linked fitness loci) with lower egg hatchability, greater developmental time, greater mortality during later stages, and a greater tendency to have an extra instar.A part of an M.Sc. thesis of F. R. H. Hodson, University of Regina (1985).Financial assistance from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (A0485) is greatfully acknowledged. Address reprint requests to W.C.     

A comparison of cycloartenol and lanosterol biosynthesis and metabolism by the Oomycetes

Summary Representative members in each of the four orders of Oomycetes (Phytophthora cactorum, Peronosporales;Lagenidium callinectes, L. giganteum, Lagenidiales;Saprolegnia ferax, Saprolegniales;Apodachylella completa, Leptomitales) have been examined for their ability to synthesize and polycyclize squalene-oxide (SO) to a tetracyclic product and to differentiate between cycloartenol and lanosterol metabolism to sterols.P. cactorum andL. giganteum failed to synthesize or metabolize SO, cycloartenol or lanosterol. While the other three fungi synthesized sterols via SO and lanosterol, a minor metabolism of added cycloartenol to the 4,4-desmethyl-14-methylcyclosteroid dehydropollinastanol was observed.Acknowledgment.Saprolegnia ferax-ATCC 3605 (1),Lagenidium callinectes ATCC 24973 (2),Apodachlyella completa (3) were obtained from Dr J. Aronson, Arizona State Univ. (3),Lagenidium gigateum was obtained from a drainage ditch in California (4), andPhytophthora cactorum was obtained from the U.C. Berkeley Fungal Collection (5). The fungi were cultured as previously described: Cultures 1,2,3: Berg, L. B., Ph. D. dissertation, Univ. of MD., College Park (1983); culture 4: Kerwin, J.L., and Washino, R.K., Exp. Mycol.7 (1983) 109; culture 5: Nes, W.D., and Stafford, A.E., Lipids19 (1984) 544. Preliminary observations involving the labeled substrates were presented by Le, P.H., Nes, W.D., and Parish, E.J. J. Am. Oil Chem. Soc.62 (1985) 655(A). Please address all correspondence to W.D. Nes, Plant Physiology and Chemistry Research Unit, ARS-US Dept of Agriculture, Berkeley, CA 94710, USA.     

Response of the sawflyDiprion similis to chiral sex pheromones

Summary Males ofDiprion similis respond to both the (+)-2R,3R,7R and (–)-2S,3S,7S enantiomers of its sex pheromone, erythro-3,7-dimethyl pentadecan-2-yl propionate. A mixture of the 2 enantiomers induces a response similar to that of the individual components.Acknowledgments. C.L. was supported by a NERC Fellowship.     

Isocardenolides

Zusammenfassung Ein einfacher Weg zur Synthese eines von zwei möglichen isomeren Cardenoliden wurde entwickelt und die Reaktionsfolge an Hand der Überführung von Pregnenolon in Isocardenolide V gezeigt.

---

---

Steroids and Related Natural Products XXI. For the previous contribution refer to:G. R. Pettit andP. Hofer, Helv. chim. Acta46, 2142 (1963).

---

A preliminary account of this study was presented (December 1963) at the VI. Pan-American Congress of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, Mexico City (Mexico).

---

This investigation was supported by PHS Research Grants CY-4074 (C3) to CA-04074-06 from the National Cancer Institute, Public Health Service.     

Luffolide,a novel anti-inflammatory terpene from the spongeLuffariella sp.

Summary Luffolide (4) is a minor metabolite of the spongeLuffariella sp. from Palau. The structure of luffolide was determined by single crystal X-ray analysis. Luffolide is relatively unstable and undergoes a complex cyclization reaction to give the hexacyclic products5 and6. Luffolide (4) has some of the anti-inflammatory properties of manoalide (1): this may help to define the chemical reaction between manoalide (1) and phospholipase A₂.All crystallographic calculations were done on a PRIME 9950 computer operated by the Cornell Chemistry Computing Facility. Principal programs employed were: FOBS, a data reduction program by G.D. Van Duyne, Cornell University, 1987; MULTAN 80, and RANTAN 80, systems of computer programs for the automatic solution of crystal structures from X-ray diffraction data (locally modified to perform all Fourier calculations including Patterson syntheses) written by P. Main, S. E. Hull, L. Lessinger, G. Germain, J. P. Declercq and M. M. Woolfson, University of York, England, 1980 BDLS, an, anisotropic block diagonal least squares refinement written by K. Hirotsu, E. Arnold, and G. D. Van Duyne, Cornell University, 1987; PLUTO 78, a locally modified crystallographic illustration program by W. D. S. Motherwell, Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre, 1978; and BOND, a program to calculate molecular parameters and prepare tables written by K. Hirotsu and G. Van Duyne, Cornell University, 1985.Acknowledgment. We thank the Government of the Republic of Palau for a scientific research permit. We thank Dr Klaus Rützler, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. for identifying the sponge and Mary Kay Harper for performing additional bioassays. This research was supported by grants from the Sea Grant College Programs of California [Projects R/MP-30 to DJF) and R/MP-31 (to RSJ)] and New York (to JC) and the National Institutes of Health (CA 24487 to JC).     

Freeze tolerance in the frog,Rana sylvatica

Summary Wood frogs survive extracellular freezing at moderate subzero temperatures (–4°C) for at least 11 days. Freezing survival is aided by the accumulation of high concentrations of glucose as a cryoprotectant in blood and tissues. Glucose production was accompanied by a rapid decline in liver, but not muscle, glycogen levels suggesting that liver is the organ controlling cryoprotectant synthesis.Acknowledgments. This study was supported by grants to L.M.G. from the Kroc Foundation (Santa Ynez, California) and from the National Institute of Dental Research (Grant No. DE-03987). The authors wish to thank K. Yorko, M. Shakin, J. Finan and Mrs N. Manivannan for their technical and secretarial assistance.Acknowledgments. I thank Dr J. Ballantyne, Dr F. Schueler and I. McMurray for help with frog collections and Dr. W. Schmid, Dr J. Bogart and Dr F. Cook for helpful discussions. Supported by an N.S.E.R.C. operating grant and by a grant from the Atkinson Charitable Foundation.     

Photodecomposition of orellanine and orellinine,the fungal toxins ofCortinarius orellanus Fries andCortinarius speciossimus

Summary The photosensitivity of orellanine, the main toxin ofCortinarius orellanus Fries mushrooms, and its transformation to orelline via orellinine is discussed. All three substances were found in methanolic extracts ofCortinarius orellanus andCortinarius speciossimus mushrooms. The problem of homogeneity of orellanine is also discussed.Acknowledgment. The authors wish to express their gratitude to Prof. Dr W. Steglich from the Institut für Organische Chemie und Biochemie der Universität Bonn (Federal Republic of Germany) for having provided them with a sample of dried material ofC. speciossisimus.     

Independent responses of two fruit characters to developmental regulation inMicroseris douglasii (Asteraceae,Lactuceae)

Summary The hairy achenes and yellow achenes characters are expressed only in peripheral fruits onMicroseris capitula. Segregation in interstrain hybrid D37 shows that the genes responsible for these characters respond independently to developmental regulation.Supported by grants Ba 536/7-7 from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, and DEB 80-09427 from the National Science Foundation.     

Attraction of the male house fly to cuticular hydrocarbons and feces of several other dipteran species

Zusammenfassung Männchen vonMusca domestica werden von Kohlenwasserstoffextrakten aus der Cuticula weiblicherMusca domestica, M. autumnalis undHaematobia irritan angelockt (gleiche oder ähnliche Pheromone), nicht aber von entsprechenden Extrakten ausStomoxys calitrans, Glossina morsitans, G. austeni, Fannia canicularis undCochliomyia hominivorax.

---

---

The authors thankDr. P. A. Langley, University of Bristol, for his geneous aid in providing cuticular washes and feces of tsetse flies;Dr. C. M. Jones, USDA, for face fly samples;Dr. R. L. Harris, USDA, for horn fly samples;Dr. B. G. Hightower and R. R. Grabbe, USDA, for screwworm samples andDr. W. M. Rogoff, USDA, for little house fly samples.     

2-Amino-6-[(1'R,2'S)-1',2'-dihydroxypropyl]-3-methyl-pterin-4-one,a biologically active metabolite from the anthozoanAstroides calycularis Pallas

Summary 2-Amino-6-[(1'R,2'S)-1',2'-dihydroxypropyl]-3-methyl-pterin-4-one (1) has been isolated from the marine anthozoanAstroides calycularis; its structure was illustrated by spectral analyses including 2D-NMR and by partial synthesis.1 appears to possess cell-growth inhibiting activity.29 December 1986Work supported by C.N.R. (Progetto Finalizzato Chimica Fine e Secondaria) and by Ministero Pubblica Istruzione Italy. — Acknowledgments. Mass spectral data were provided by Servizio di Spettrometria di massa del C.N.R. e dell'Università di Napoli. The assistance of the staff is gratefully appreciated. Finally we would like to thank Prof. C. Pietropaolo for supplying chick embryo fibroblasts.     

Multiple sex-linked reciprocal translocations in a termite from Jamaica

Summary Males of the termiteIncisitermes schwarzi from Jamaica have a diploid chromosome number of 32. In male meiosis there are 7 bivalents, and a ring of 18 chromosomes equivalent to sex chromosomes, 9 X's and 9 Y's. This is the largest reciprocal translocation complex so far described for any plant or animal species.This work was supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation, No. DEB 78-02042.     

Sex pheromone blend of the codling moth,Cydia pomonella: Evidence for a behavioral role of dodecan-1-ol

Summary Pheromone glands and effluvia of the codling moth female containE-8, E-10-dodecadien-1-ol as main component, accompanied by its geometric isomers, the corresponding acetate and aldehyde (both in gland extracts only),E-9-dodecen-1-ol and saturated alcohols of 10 to 18 carbons. Dodecan-1-ol as the most abundant secondary component (about 30% of the female blend) acts in the wind tunnel by widening the dose range over which codling moth males are optimally attracted toE-8, E-10-dodecadien-1-ol.This research was supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation. We thank W. Riggenbach for supplying moths and T. Wildbolz, P. Charmillot and M. Tóth for conducting field trials.