Genetic divergence, speciation and morphological stasis in a lineage of African cichlid fishes.

Since their discovery at the turn of the century, the species assemblages of cichlid fishes in the East African Lakes Victoria, Malawi and Tanganyika have fascinated evolutionary biologists. Many models have attempted to account for the 'explosive' evolution of several hundred species within these lakes. Here we report a case of surprisingly large genetic divergence among populations of the endemic Tropheus lineage of Lake Tanganyika. This lineage of six species contains twice as much genetic variation as the entire morphologically highly diverse cichlid assemblage of Lake Malawi and six times more variation than the Lake Victoria species flock. Although it is highly variable in coloration, this group of species and its closest relatives have not undergone appreciable morphological change. The observed geographic pattern of genetic variation suggests that major lake level fluctuations affected the distribution and speciation of this lineage of cichlid fishes.     

Cristallisation de l'α-amylase de pancréas

Summary In a series of 32 urinary calculi, examined with X-rays and microscope, 2 were found to consist of hydroxylapatite, 4 of whewellite, 4 of struvite and 15 of uric acid. 4 stones contained two minerals: apatite + brushite, apatite + whewellite and both hydrates of Ca-oxalate.     

19-Hydroxylation ofΔ 4-androstene-3,17-dione and dehydroepiandrosterone by bovine adrenals

Zusammenfassung Die Aufklärung der Struktur von 19-Oxy-⁴-androsten-3,17-dion (VI), einer Substanz, isoliert nach Inkubation von ⁴-Androsten-3,17-dion und von Dehydroepiandrosteron mit einem Rinder-Nebennieren-Homogenat, ist beschrieben. Dies ist unseres Wissens die erste Beobachtung der Hydroxylierungin vitro einer angulären Methylgruppe eines Steroids. Mehrere Folgerungen sind erörtert.     

Sequence and analysis of chromosome 5 of the plant Arabidopsis thaliana

The genome of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana has been sequenced by an international collaboration, The Arabidopsis Genome Initiative. Here we report the complete sequence of chromosome 5. This chromosome is 26 megabases long; it is the second largest Arabidopsis chromosome and represents 21% of the sequenced regions of the genome. The sequence of chromosomes 2 and 4 have been reported previously and that of chromosomes 1 and 3, together with an analysis of the complete genome sequence, are reported in this issue. Analysis of the sequence of chromosome 5 yields further insights into centromere structure and the sequence determinants of heterochromatin condensation. The 5,874 genes encoded on chromosome 5 reveal several new functions in plants, and the patterns of gene organization provide insights into the mechanisms and extent of genome evolution in plants.     

Some remarks concerning the ecology of bedsonia infections

Zusammenfassung Es wird vorgeschlagen, dass die Vertreter der Psittacosis-Lymphogranuloma-Trachoma-Gruppe der Mikrobakterien in Zukunft alsBedsonia bezeichnet werden. Die einzelnen Glieder dieser Gruppe erzeugen lokale und systemische Infektionen beim Menschen, Geflügel und einzelnen Säugetieren und nicht nur bei Papageien. Da die Pathogenität, die Virulenz und der Gewebetropismus grosse Unterschiede aufweisen, bietet das ecologische Studium der Infektionen viele anregende Probleme.