Lisbeth Sellin als Madama Butterfly, Rollenbild, in: Giacomo Puccini: Madama Butterfly

Signatur des Originals: S 36/F06501

Lisbeth Sellin als Madama Butterfly, Rollenbild, in: Giacomo Puccini: Madama Butterfly

Signatur des Originals: S 36/F06504

Lisbeth Sellin als Madama Butterfly, Rollenbild, in: Giacomo Puccini: Madama Butterfly

Signatur des Originals: S 36/F06505

Lisbeth Sellin als Madama Butterfly, Szenenfoto, in: Giacomo Puccini: Madama Butterfly

Signatur des Originals: S 36/F06506

Lisbeth Sellin als Madama Butterfly, Karl Gentner als Benjamin Franklin Pinkerton, Rollenbild, Doppelbildnis, in: Giacomo Puccini: Madama Butterfly

Signatur des Originals: S 36/F06510

Dorothea Schröder als Madama Butterfly, Rollenbild, in: Giacomo Puccini: Madama Butterfly

Signatur des Originals: S 36/F06352

Waldemar Staegemann, Rollenbild, Brustbild, in: Giacomo Puccini: Madama Butterfly

Signatur des Originals: S 36/F06655

Richard Tauber, Rollenbild, Hüftild, in: Giacomo Puccini: Madama Butterfly

Signatur des Originals: S 36/F06840

Elisabeth Rosenkranz als Madama Butterfly, Herbert Hesse als Sharpless, Szenenfoto, in: Giacomo Puccini: Madama Butterfly

Signatur des Originals: S 36/F11074

Else Gentner-Fischer als Cio-Cio-San, Rollenbild, Brustbild, in: Giacomo Puccini: Madame Butterfly

Signatur des Originals: S 36/F11414

Lisbeth Sellin als Cio-Cio-San, Rollenbild, in: Giacomo Puccini: Madame Butterfly

Signatur des Originals: S 36/F12410

Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus L.) use a magnetic compass for navigation

Fall migratory monarch butterflies, tested for their directional responses to magnetic cues under three conditions, amagnetic, normal, and reversed magnetic fields, showed three distinct patterns. In the absence of a magnetic field, monarchs lacked directionality as a group. In the normal magnetic field, monarchs oriented to the southwest with a group pattern typical for migrants. When the horizontal component of the magnetic field was reversed, the butterflies oriented to the northeast. In contrast, nonmigratory monarchs lacked directionality in the normal magnetic field. The results are a direct demonstration of magnetic compass orientation in migratory insects.

Natal origins of migratory monarch butterflies at wintering colonies in Mexico: New isotopic evidence

Each year, millions of monarch butterflies from eastern North America migrate to overwinter in 10–13 discrete colonies located in the Oyamel forests of central Mexico. For decades efforts to track monarch migration have relied on observations and tag-recapture methods, culminating with the discovery of the wintering colonies in 1975. Monarch tag returns from Mexico, however, are few and primarily from two accessible colonies, and therefore tag-recapture techniques have not quantified natal origins or distinctiveness among monarch populations at wintering sites. Such information would be invaluable in the conservation of the monarch and its migration phenomenon since the wintering sites currently are threatened by habitat alteration. Here we show that stable hydrogen (δD) and carbon (δ13C) isotope ratios of wintering monarchs can be used to evaluate natal origins on the summer breeding range. Stable-hydrogen and carbon isotopic values of 597 wintering monarchs from 13 wintering roost sites were compared with isotopic patterns measured in individuals at natal sites across their breeding range over a single migration cycle. We determined that all monarch wintering colonies were composed of individuals originating mainly from the Midwest, United States, thereby providing evidence for a panmictic model of wintering colony composition. However, two colonies showed more northerly origins, suggesting possible priority colonies for conservation efforts.

Distinct roles for the N- and C-terminal regions in the cytotoxicity of pierisin-1, a putative ADP-ribosylating toxin from cabbage butterfly, against mammalian cells

Pierisin-1 is an 850-aa cytotoxic protein found in the cabbage butterfly, Pieris rapae, and has been suggested to consist of an N-terminal region with ADP-ribosyltransferase domain and of a C-terminal region that might have a receptor-binding domain. To elucidate the role of each region, we investigated the functions of various fragments of pierisin-1. In vitro expressed polypeptide consisting of amino acid residues 1–233 or 234–850 of pierisin-1 alone did not show cytotoxicity against human cervical carcinoma HeLa cells. However, the presence of both polypeptides in the culture medium showed some of the original cytotoxic activity. Introduction of the N-terminal polypeptide alone by electroporation also induced cell death in HeLa cells, and even in the mouse melanoma MEB4 cells insensitive to pierisin-1. Thus, the N-terminal region has a principal role in the cytotoxicity of pierisin-1 inside mammalian cells. Analyses of incorporated pierisin-1 indicated that the entire protein, regardless of whether it consisted of a single polypeptide or two separate N- and C-terminal polypeptides, was incorporated into HeLa cells. However, neither of the terminal polypeptides was incorporated when each polypeptide was present separately. These findings indicate that the C-terminal region is important for the incorporation of pierisin-1. Moreover, presence of receptor for pierisin-1 in the lipid fraction of cell membrane was suggested. The cytotoxic effects of pierisin-1 were enhanced by previous treatment with trypsin, producing “nicked” pierisin-1. Generation of the N-terminal fragment in HeLa cells was detected after application of intact entire molecule of pierisin-1. From the above observations, it is suggested that after incorporation of pierisin-1 into the cell by interaction of its C-terminal region with the receptor in the cell membrane, the entire protein is cleaved into the N- and C-terminal fragments with intracellular protease, and the N-terminal fragment then exhibits cytotoxicity.