Isotopic homogeneity of iron in the early solar nebula.

The chemical and isotopic homogeneity of the early solar nebula, and the processes producing fractionation during its evolution, are central issues of cosmochemistry. Studies of the relative abundance variations of three or more isotopes of an element can in principle determine if the initial reservoir of material was a homogeneous mixture or if it contained several distinct sources of precursor material. For example, widespread anomalies observed in the oxygen isotopes of meteorites have been interpreted as resulting from the mixing of a solid phase that was enriched in 16O with a gas phase in which 16O was depleted, or as an isotopic 'memory' of Galactic evolution. In either case, these anomalies are regarded as strong evidence that the early solar nebula was not initially homogeneous. Here we present measurements of the relative abundances of three iron isotopes in meteoritic and terrestrial samples. We show that significant variations of iron isotopes exist in both terrestrial and extraterrestrial materials. But when plotted in a three-isotope diagram, all of the data for these Solar System materials fall on a single mass-fractionation line, showing that homogenization of iron isotopes occurred in the solar nebula before both planetesimal accretion and chondrule formation.     

A defined range of guard cell calcium oscillation parameters encodes stomatal movements.

Oscillations in cytosolic calcium concentration ([Ca2+]cyt) are central regulators of signal transduction cascades, although the roles of individual [Ca2+]cyt oscillation parameters in regulating downstream physiological responses remain largely unknown. In plants, guard cells integrate environmental and endogenous signals to regulate the aperture of stomatal pores and [Ca2+]cyt oscillations are a fundamental component of stomatal closure. Here we systematically vary [Ca2+]cyt oscillation parameters in Arabidopsis guard cells using a 'calcium clamp' and show that [Ca2+]cyt controls stomatal closure by two mechanisms. Short-term 'calcium-reactive' closure occurred rapidly when [Ca2+]cyt was elevated, whereas the degree of long-term steady-state closure was 'calcium programmed' by [Ca2+]cyt oscillations within a defined range of frequency, transient number, duration and amplitude. Furthermore, in guard cells of the gca2 mutant, [Ca2+]cyt oscillations induced by abscisic acid and extracellular calcium had increased frequencies and reduced transient duration, and steady-state stomatal closure was abolished. Experimentally imposing [Ca2+]cyt oscillations with parameters that elicited closure in the wild type restored long-term closure in gca2 stomata. These data show that a defined window of guard cell [Ca2+]cyt oscillation parameters programs changes in steady-state stomatal aperture.     

Mutations in CAV3 cause mechanical hyperirritability of skeletal muscle in rippling muscle disease.

Hereditary rippling muscle disease (RMD) is an autosomal dominant human disorder characterized by mechanically triggered contractions of skeletal muscle. Genome-wide linkage analysis has identified an RMD locus on chromosome 3p25. We found missense mutations in positional candidate CAV3 (encoding caveolin 3; ref. 5) in all five families analyzed. Mutations in CAV3 have also been described in limb-girdle muscular dystrophy type 1C (LGMD1C; refs. 6,7), demonstrating the allelism of dystrophic and non-dystrophic muscle diseases.     

A MAP kinase-dependent actin checkpoint ensures proper spindle orientation in fission yeast.

The accurate segregation of chromosomes at mitosis depends on a correctly assembled bipolar spindle that exerts balanced forces on each sister chromatid. The integrity of mitotic chromosome segregation is ensured by the spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC) that delays mitosis in response to defective spindle organisation or failure of chromosome attachment. Here we describe a distinct mitotic checkpoint in the fission yeast, Schizosaccharomyces pombe, that monitors the integrity of the actin cytoskeleton and delays sister chromatid separation, spindle elongation and cytokinesis until spindle poles have been properly oriented. This mitotic delay is imposed by a stress-activated mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase pathway but is independent of the anaphase-promoting complex (APC).     

Energetic optimization of ion conduction rate by the K+ selectivity filter.

The K+ selectivity filter catalyses the dehydration, transfer and rehydration of a K+ ion in about ten nanoseconds. This physical process is central to the production of electrical signals in biology. Here we show how nearly diffusion-limited rates are achieved, by analysing ion conduction and the corresponding crystallographic ion distribution in the selectivity filter of the KcsA K+ channel. Measurements with K+ and its slightly larger analogue, Rb+, lead us to conclude that the selectivity filter usually contains two K+ ions separated by one water molecule. The two ions move in a concerted fashion between two configurations, K+-water-K+-water (1,3 configuration) and water-K+-water-K+ (2,4 configuration), until a third ion enters, displacing the ion on the opposite side of the queue. For K+, the energy difference between the 1,3 and 2,4 configurations is close to zero, the condition of maximum conduction rate. The energetic balance between these configurations is a clear example of evolutionary optimization of protein function.     

Striped iron zoning of olivine induced by dislocation creep in deformed peridotites.

Deformation of solid materials affects not only their microstructures, but also their microchemistries. Although chemical unmixing of initially homogeneous multicomponent solids is known to occur during deformation by diffusion creep, there has been no report on their chemical zoning due to deformation by dislocation creep, in either natural samples or laboratory experiments. Here we report striped iron zoning of olivine ((Mg,Fe)2SiO4) in deformed peridotites, where the iron concentration increases at subgrain boundaries composed of edge dislocations. We infer that this zoning is probably formed by alignment of edge dislocations dragging a so-called Cottrell 'atmosphere' of solute atoms (iron in this case) into subgrain boundaries during deformation of the olivine by dislocation creep. We have found that the iron zoning does not develop in laboratory experiments of high strain rates where dislocations move too fast to drag the Cottrell atmosphere. This phenomenon might have important implications for the generation of deep-focus earthquakes, as transformation of olivine to high-pressure phases preferentially occurs in high-iron regions, and therefore along subgrain boundaries which would be preferentially aligned in plastically deformed mantle peridotites.     

陆壳的生成: 与赞歧岩类的联系

陆壳的平均成分为中性, 而某些典型岛弧岩浆岩也具中性的化学组成, 因而, 人们认为陆壳应产生于古老的会聚板块边界. 中性陆壳形成的一个可能机制是直接产生于上地幔的安山质熔体. 产于日本西南Setouchi火山岩带的赞歧岩类包括高镁安山岩(HMA), 是俯冲板片熔融及其后的熔体-地幔相互作用的结果. 该岩类形成于特殊构造环境(例如, 热的岩石圈俯冲进入异常热的上地幔), 这种环境可能在太古代时业已存在. 富水的高镁安山岩岩浆很可能在地壳内固结形成高镁安山质岩体, 然后这些岩体重熔产生了分异的赞歧岩类. 目前, 高镁安山岩岩浆的形成和分异可能正发生于Izu-Bonin-Mariana (IBM)弧-沟系. 这是因为: (1) IBM演化初始阶段以高镁安山岩岩浆作用为特征; (2) IBM中地壳的波速VP与总体陆壳的波速一致. 对具高镁安山质深成岩的VP估计也支持了这一点, 但也不能排除英云闪长质岩在该岛弧中部地壳的存在. 因此, 陆壳的形成也有可能由幔源玄武质岩浆分异而产生.     

Primary structure of alpha-subunit precursor of Torpedo californica acetylcholine receptor deduced from cDNA sequence

DNA sequences complementary to the Torpedo californica electroplax mRNA coding for the alpha-subunit precursor of the acetylcholine receptor were cloned. The nucleotide sequence of the cloned cDNA indicates that the precursor consists of 461 amino acids including a prepeptide of 24 amino acids. Possible sites for acetylcholine binding and antigenic determinants on the alpha-subunit molecule are discussed.