Ethanol ingestive behavior as a function of central neurotransmission

Uncontrollable alcohol ingestive behavior has been linked to deficits of central neurotransmission. The pineal gland plays an important role in modulating ethanol intake in numerous animal species. The opioidergic (i.e. beta-endorphin, enkephalin, and dynorphin) system is involved in both the actions of alcohol and opiates, as well as craving and/or genetic predisposition towards abuse of these two agents. Furthermore, there is significant evidence to link ingestive behaviors with the ventral tegmental accumbens-hypothalamic axis, whereby the biogenic amines dopamine and serotonin are reciprocally involved. Evidence is presented which implicates the striatum and the hypothalamus as possible specific loci for regional differences between alcohol-preferring and alcohol-nonpreferring mice. We believe that photoperiod-induced alcohol ingestive behavior may involve alterations in both pineal and hypothalamic opioid peptides.     

Fate of cartilage cells in limb regeneration in the axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum)

Résumé Nous avons suivi de près, pendant la régénération, le comportement du cartilage triploïde greffé dans les membres diploïdes en nous servant du nombre nucléolaire comme marque cellulaire. La greffe de cartilage a fourni des cellules de cartilage au régénérat, mais elle n'a pas contribué à la découverte de cellules d'autres espèces.     

A Silurian sea spider

Pycnogonids (sea spiders) are marine arthropods numbering some 1,160 extant species. They are globally distributed in depths of up to 6,000 metres, and locally abundant; however, their typically delicate form and non-biomineralized cuticle has resulted in an extremely sparse fossil record that is not accepted universally. There are two opposing views of their phylogenetic position: either within Chelicerata as sister group to the euchelicerates, or as a sister taxon to all other euarthropods. The Silurian Herefordshire Konservat-Lagerstatte in England (approximately 425 million years (Myr) bp) yields exceptionally preserved three-dimensional fossils that provide unrivalled insights into the palaeobiology of a variety of invertebrates. The fossils are preserved as calcitic void in-fills in carbonate concretions within a volcaniclastic horizon, and are reconstructed digitally. Here we describe a new pycnogonid from this deposit, which is the oldest adult sea spider by approximately 35 Myr and the most completely known fossil species. The large chelate first appendage is consistent with a chelicerate affinity for the pycnogonids. Cladistic analyses place the new species near the base of the pycnogonid crown group, implying that the latter had arisen by the Silurian period.     

Whole brain methionine-enkephalin of ethanol-avoiding and ethanol-preferring c57BL mice

These experiments systematically investigated ethanol preference in both the C57Bl/6N and C57Bl/6J mice utilizing three-choice 2-bottle preference test. In addition, these sublines were evaluated for whole brain methionine-enkephalin levels, which were significantly lower in C57Bl/6J mice (alcohol preferring) compared to C57Bl/6N mice (alcohol non-preferring). This finding supports the involvement of the peptidyl opiates in ethanol seeking behavior.     

Hydatellaceae identified as a new branch near the base of the angiosperm phylogenetic tree

Although the relationship of angiosperms to other seed plants remains controversial, great progress has been made in identifying the earliest extant splits in flowering-plant phylogeny, with the discovery that the New Caledonian shrub Amborella trichopoda, the water lilies (Nymphaeales), and the woody Austrobaileyales constitute a basal grade of lines that diverged before the main radiation in the clade. By focusing attention on these ancient lines, this finding has re-written our understanding of angiosperm structural and reproductive biology, physiology, ecology and taxonomy. The discovery of a new basal lineage would lead to further re-evaluation of the initial angiosperm radiation, but would also be unexpected, as nearly all of the approximately 460 flowering-plant families have been surveyed in molecular studies. Here we show that Hydatellaceae, a small family of dwarf aquatics that were formerly interpreted as monocots, are instead a highly modified and previously unrecognized ancient lineage of angiosperms. Molecular phylogenetic analyses of multiple plastid genes and associated noncoding regions from the two genera of Hydatellaceae identify this overlooked family as the sister group of Nymphaeales. This surprising result is further corroborated by evidence from the nuclear gene phytochrome C (PHYC), and by numerous morphological characters. This indicates that water lilies are part of a larger lineage that evolved more extreme and diverse modifications for life in an aquatic habitat than previously recognized.