Climate-driven trends in contemporary ocean productivity

Contributing roughly half of the biosphere's net primary production (NPP), photosynthesis by oceanic phytoplankton is a vital link in the cycling of carbon between living and inorganic stocks. Each day, more than a hundred million tons of carbon in the form of CO2 are fixed into organic material by these ubiquitous, microscopic plants of the upper ocean, and each day a similar amount of organic carbon is transferred into marine ecosystems by sinking and grazing. The distribution of phytoplankton biomass and NPP is defined by the availability of light and nutrients (nitrogen, phosphate, iron). These growth-limiting factors are in turn regulated by physical processes of ocean circulation, mixed-layer dynamics, upwelling, atmospheric dust deposition, and the solar cycle. Satellite measurements of ocean colour provide a means of quantifying ocean productivity on a global scale and linking its variability to environmental factors. Here we describe global ocean NPP changes detected from space over the past decade. The period is dominated by an initial increase in NPP of 1,930 teragrams of carbon a year (Tg C yr(-1)), followed by a prolonged decrease averaging 190 Tg C yr(-1). These trends are driven by changes occurring in the expansive stratified low-latitude oceans and are tightly coupled to coincident climate variability. This link between the physical environment and ocean biology functions through changes in upper-ocean temperature and stratification, which influence the availability of nutrients for phytoplankton growth. The observed reductions in ocean productivity during the recent post-1999 warming period provide insight on how future climate change can alter marine food webs.     

Characterization of apoptosis induced by marine natural products in non small cell lung cancer A549 cells

The effects of different marine derived agents were studied in A549 cell growth. These drugs induced cell cycle arrest at the G2-M phase associated with the up-regulation of GADD45alpha-gamma and down-regulation of c-Myc. In treated cells, GADD45alpha-gamma and c-Myc were up- and down-regulated, respectively. A cascade of events leading to apoptotic mitochondrial 'intrinsic' pathway was observed in treated cells: (1) dephosphorylation of BAD serine136; (2) BAD dissociation from 14-3-3 followed by its association with BCL-XL; (3) cytochrome c release; (4) caspase-3 activation, and (5) cleavage of vimentin. Caspase(s) inhibitor prevented the formation of cleavage products and, in turn, apoptosis was inhibited through a p53-independent mechanism. Moreover, these compounds did not activate NF-kappaB. Our findings may offer new insights into the mechanisms of action of these agents in A549 cells. The better understanding of their effects might be important to fully exploit the potential of these new drugs.     

X-linked Cornelia de Lange syndrome owing to SMC1L1 mutations

Cornelia de Lange syndrome is a multisystem developmental disorder characterized by facial dysmorphisms, upper limb abnormalities, growth delay and cognitive retardation. Mutations in the NIPBL gene, a component of the cohesin complex, account for approximately half of the affected individuals. We report here that mutations in SMC1L1 (also known as SMC1), which encodes a different subunit of the cohesin complex, are responsible for CdLS in three male members of an affected family and in one sporadic case.     

Composition of epicuticular wax of rice,Oryza sativa

Summary The epicuticular wax of rice, varietyRibe, comprised n-alkanes, esters, aldehydes and free alcohols. The nalkanes contained 4 major chain lengths, C₂₇, C₂₉, C₃₁ and C₃₃. Triacontanal and dotriacontanal were the major aldehydes. Octacosanol comprised 89% of the free alcohols. The esters were mainly esters of C₁₆ to C₂₄ acids with C₂₂ to C₃₀ alcohols.This research was supported by the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Rome.