Interactions among microscopic planktonic organisms underpin the functioning of open ocean ecosystems. With few exceptions, these organisms lack advanced eyes and thus rely largely on chemical ...sensing to perceive their surroundings. However, few of the signaling molecules involved in interactions among marine plankton have been identified. We report a group of eight small molecules released by copepods, the most abundant zooplankton in the sea, which play a central role in food webs and biogeochemical cycles. The compounds, named copepodamides, are polar lipids connecting taurine via an amide to isoprenoid fatty acid conjugate of varying composition. The bloom-forming dinoflagellate Alexandrium minutum responds to pico- to nanomolar concentrations of copepodamides with up to a 20-fold increase in production of paralytic shellfish toxins. Different copepod species exude distinct copepodamide blends that contribute to the species-specific defensive responses observed in phytoplankton. The signaling system described here has far reaching implications for marine ecosystems by redirecting grazing pressure and facilitating the formation of large scale harmful algal blooms.
Significance We report the chemical basis for a critical question in ocean science: how do single-celled algae, which are responsible for almost half of Earth's photosynthesis, sense their environment to respond appropriately to the lethal threat of predation? The increasing frequency of toxic algal blooms, with worldwide consequences to human health, fisheries, and marine ecosystem functioning, has garnered much attention in recent years, but it has remained unclear how algal toxicity is regulated. With the current paper, we show that substantial (20×) induction of toxicity occurs when one species of algae is exposed to a family of previously unknown chemical cues from predatory zooplankton (copepods). The copepodamides represent the first discovery, to our knowledge, of chemical cues mediating interactions between marine zooplankton and their prey.
Recent technologic advances have markedly enhanced the clinical applications of computed tomography (CT). While the benefits of CT exceed the harmful effects of radiation exposure in patients, ...increasing radiation doses to the population have raised a compelling case for reduction of radiation exposure from CT. Strategies for radiation dose reduction are difficult to devise, however, because of a lack of guidelines regarding CT examination and scanning techniques. Various methods and strategies based on individual patient attributes and CT technology have been explored for dose optimization. It is the purpose of this review article to outline basic principles of CT radiation exposure and emphasize the need for CT radiation dose optimization based on modification of scanning parameters and application of recent technologic innovations.
Context. It has been established that the classical gas-phase production of interstellar methanol (CH3OH) cannot explain observed abundances. Instead it is now generally thought that the main ...formation path has to be by successive hydrogenation of solid CO on interstellar grain surfaces. Aims. While theoretical models and laboratory experiments show that methanol is efficiently formed from CO on cold grains, our aim is to test this scenario by astronomical observations of gas associated with young stellar objects (YSOs). Methods. We have observed the rotational transition quartets J = 2K – 1K of 12CH3OH and 13CH3OH at 96.7 and 94.4 GHz, respectively, towards a sample of massive YSOs in different stages of evolution. In addition, the J = 1−0 transitions of 12C18O and 13C18O were observed towards some of these sources. We use the 12C/13C ratio to discriminate between gas-phase and grain surface origin: If methanol is formed from CO on grains, the ratios should be similar in CH3OH and CO. If not, the ratio should be higher in CH3OH due to 13C fractionation in cold CO gas. We also estimate the abundance ratios between the nuclear spin types of methanol (E and A). If methanol is formed on grains, this ratio is likely to have been thermalized at the low physical temperature of the grain, and therefore show a relative over-abundance of A-methanol. Results. We show that the 12C/13C isotopic ratio is very similar in gas-phase CH3OH and C18O, on the spatial scale of about 40″, towards four YSOs. For two of our sources we find an overabundance of A-methanol as compared to E-methanol, corresponding to nuclear spin temperatures of 10 and 16 K. For the remaining five sources, the methanol E/A ratio is less than unity. Conclusions. While the 12C/13C ratio test is consistent with methanol formation from hydrogenation of CO on grain surfaces, the result of the E/A ratio test is inconclusive.
Interactions of tumor cells with lymphatic vessels are of paramount importance for tumor progression, however, the underlying molecular mechanisms are poorly understood. Whereas enlarged lymphatic ...vessels are frequently observed at the periphery of malignant melanomas, it has remained unclear whether intratumoral lymphangiogenesis occurs within these tumors. Here, we demonstrate the presence of intratumoral lymphatics and enlargement of lymphatic vessels at the tumor periphery in vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-C-overexpressing human melanomas transplanted onto nude mice. VEGF-C expression also resulted in enhanced tumor angiogenesis, indicating a coordinated regulation of lymphangiogenesis and angiogenesis in melanoma progression. The specific biological effects of VEGF-C were critically dependent on its proteolytic processing
in vivo. Furthermore, VEGF-C induced chemotaxis of macrophages
in vitro and
in vivo, revealing a potential function of VEGF-C as an immunomodulator. Taken together, our results identify VEGF-C as multifunctional factor involved in regulating tumor lymphangiogenesis, angiogenesis, and immune response.
Absolute photodetachment cross sections have been measured for the hydrocarbon chain anions C n H--, n = 2, 4, and 6, which are relevant for an understanding of molecular clouds in the interstellar ...medium. Data have been obtained for different photon energies within approximately 1 eV of the detachment threshold. With our recently developed method we have achieved a precision of better than 25% on these absolute cross sections. The experiments have been carried out by means of photodetachment tomography of the mass-selected molecular anions in a multipole radio-frequency ion trap. The measured absolute cross sections are in accordance with the empirical scaling law of Millar et al. and have allowed us to determine its free parameters. These results are important for predicting the photostability and thus the abundance of carbon chain anions in planetary atmospheres, in circumstellar envelopes, and in photon-dominated regions of interstellar molecular clouds.
We report our plasma rate coefficient and branching ratio measurements for dissociative recombination (DR) of with electrons. The studies were performed in a merged-beams configuration using the TSR ...heavy-ion storage ring located at the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics in Heidelberg, Germany. Starting with our absolute merged-beams recombination rate coefficient at a collision energy of 0 eV, we have extracted the cross section and produced a plasma rate coefficient for a translational temperature of 8 K. Furthermore, extrapolating our cross-section results using the typical low-energy DR behavior, we have generated a plasma rate coefficient for translational temperatures from 5 to 500 K. We find good agreement between our extrapolated results and previous experimental DR studies on . Additionally, we have investigated the three fragmentation channels for DR of . Here we report on the dissociation geometry of the three-body fragmentation channel, the kinetic energy released for each of the three outgoing channels, the molecular internal excitation for the two outgoing channels that produce molecular fragments, and the fragmentation branching ratios for all three channels. Our results, in combination with those of other groups, indicate that any remaining uncertainties in the DR rate coefficient for appear unlikely to explain the observed discrepancies between the inferred abundances of HCl and in molecular clouds and predictions from astrochemical models.
Several methods are available for elongation of fatty acid acyl chains. The present paper describes adaptation to the fatty acid field of a previously published protocol for manganese‐based Wurtz ...type coupling of alkyl bromides. 22‐Bromo‐3(Z),6(Z),9(Z),12(Z),15(Z),18(Z)‐docosahexaene, easily prepared from 4(Z),7(Z),10(Z),13(Z),16(Z),19(Z)‐docosahexaenoic acid, was coupled to homologous ω‐bromoesters by stirring for 4 hours at 40°C in the presence of manganese powder, a nickel catalyst and terpyridine. This afforded in yields of 70–75% a series of ω3‐hexaenoates of chain lengths of 32–40 carbons. The corresponding fatty acids of >98% purity were obtained following saponification and final purification. By using methyl 2,2,3,3,4,4‐2H610‐bromodecanoate as coupling partner it was possible to prepare a very long chain fatty acid in isotopically labeled form, i.e., 2,2,3,3,4,4‐2H614(Z),17(Z),20(Z),23(Z),26(Z),29(Z)‐dotriacontahexaenoic acid. Also prepared were the monounsaturated long chain fatty acids 15(Z)‐octadecenoic acid and 15(Z)‐tetracosenoic acid. Very long chain fatty acids have been isolated from retina and other tissues and are of biological relevance. The methodology described will assist in further analytical and biological studies in this field.
Arabidopsis produces galactolipids containing esters of 12-oxo-phytodienoic acid (OPDA) and dinor-12-oxo-phytodienoic acid (dnOPDA). These lipids are referred to as arabidopsides and accumulate in ...response to abiotic and biotic stress. We explored the natural genetic variation found in 14 different Arabidopsis accessions to identify genes involved in the formation of arabidopsides. The accession C24 was identified as a poor accumulator of arabidopsides whereas the commonly used accession Col-0 was found to accumulate comparably large amounts of arabidopsides in response to tissue damage. A quantitative trait loci analysis of an F₂ population created from a cross between C24 and Col-0 located a region on chromosome four strongly linked to the capacity to form arabidopsides. Expression analysis of HYDROPEROXIDE LYASE 1 (HPL1) showed large differences in transcript abundance between accessions. Transformation of Col-0 plants with the C24 HPL1 allele under transcriptional regulation of the 35S promoter revealed a strong negative correlation between HPL1 expression and arabidopside accumulation after tissue damage, thereby strengthening the view that HPL1 competes with ALLENE OXIDE SYNTHASE (AOS) for lipid-bound hydroperoxide fatty acids. We further show that the last step in the synthesis of galactolipid-bound OPDA and dnOPDA from unstable allene oxides is exclusively enzyme-catalyzed and not the result of spontaneous cyclization. Thus, the results presented here together with previous studies suggest that all steps in arabidopside biosynthesis are enzyme-dependent and apparently all reactions can take place with substrates being esterified to galactolipids.
The dissociative recombination (DR) of N2H+ has been reinvestigated at the heavy ion storage ring CRYRING at the Manne Siegbahn Laboratory in Stockholm, Sweden. Thermal rate coefficients for electron ...temperatures between 10 and 1000 K have been deduced. We show that electron recombination is expected to play an approximately equally important role as CO in the removal of N2H+ in dark interstellar clouds. We note that a deeper knowledge on the influence of the ions' rotational temperature in the DR of N2H+ would be helpful to set further constraints on the relative importance of the different destruction mechanisms for N2H+ in these environments. The branching fractions in the DR of N2H+ have been reinvestigated at similar to 0 eV relative kinetic energy, showing a strong dominance of the N-2 + H production channel (93(-2)(+4)%) with the rest leading to NH + N. These results are in good agreement with flowing afterglow experiments and in disagreement with an earlier measurement at CRYRING.
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