Structure of importin-a from a filamentous fungus in complex with a classical nuclear localization signal

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Mitochondrial and peroxisomal population in post-pharyngeal glands of leaf-cutting ants after lipid supplementation

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Natural enemies depend on remnant habitat size in agricultural landscapes

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Liming in Growing Mango Cultivar Keitt in Production

The tropical soil acidity is one of the main limiting factors for crop productivity. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of application of limestone dose to soil fertility, nutritional status of the crop, and productivity and quality of the fruits of mango, cultivar Keitt. The study was carried out at Selviria, state of Mato Grosso Sul, Brazil, in a Typic Haplustox (pH in CaCl2=4.7), cultivated with mango cultivar Keitt grafted on Coquinho pattern in the production phase (13years old). Treatments were composed of limestone doses (0, 1.55, 3.10, 4.65, and 6.20tha(-1)), arranged in blocks at random with three repetitions. The limestone was applied and incorporated in the surface layer of 0 to 5cm deep in the total area. We evaluated the chemical attributes of the soil [pH, hydrogen (H+) aluminum (Al), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), potassium (K), and sum of bases and base saturation] at 16 and 28months after liming (layer 0 to 20cm deep), the nutrition of plants at 12months after liming, and quality of the fruit in two crop years. Liming promoted improvements in soil chemical attributes, reflected in the nutritional status, productivity, and quality of mango fruit. Also, there was a linear effect with the application of lime dose on the productivity of the fruit, but after the second year of evaluation.

Different true-protein sources do not modify the metabolism of crossbred Bos taurus x Bos indicus growing heifers

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Effect of starch-based supplementation level combined with oil on intake, performance, and methane emissions of growing Nellore bulls on pasture

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Comparative study of resistance to heat in two species of leaf-cutting ants

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Contribution of different segments of the gastrointestinal tract to digestion in growing Saanen goats

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

First-year nest growth in the leaf-cutting ants Atta bisphaerica and Atta sexdens rubropilosa

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

The influence of temperature on oxygen consumption rates of workers of two leaf cutting ants, Atta laevigata (F. Smith, 1858) and Atta sexdens rubropilosa (Forel, 1908)

1. 1. The oxygen consumption in workers of two simpatric leaf cutting ants, Atta laevigata and Atta sexdens rubropilosa was measured at different temperatures. 2. 2. In the temperature range between 5-35°C, with 5°C increments, the respiratory rates increased with temperature, but the R-T curves of both ants showed neither a marked drop at the low end nor a break at the high end; except between 30 and 35°C. 3. 3. The respiratory rates of A. s. rubropilosa were higher than those of A. laevigata and in the midrange of temperatures, the rates of A. laevigata increased faster than those of A. s. rubropilosa. 4. 4. Q10 values did not indicate regions of compensation for temperature in both ants, but suggested that adjustments may occur at high temperatures (25-35°C), as expected for tropical ants. 5. 5. Temperature variations did not alter significantly the slope of the curve relating oxygen consumption and body weight in both species. © 1982.

The respiratory metabolism of the castes of two leaf cutting ants, Atta laevigata (F. Smith, 1858) and Atta sexdens rubropilosa forel, 1908

1. 1. The respiration of the different castes of two species of leaf-cutting ants, Atta laevigata and Atta sexdens rubropilosa was measured in both workers and sexed forms. 2. 2. The respiratory rates (μl O2/mg(live)/hr) were, in A. laevigata, 0.644 (gardeners), 0.594 (cutters), 0.354 (soldiers), 0.233 (males) and 0.085 (females); in A. s. rubropilosa, 0.803 (gardeners), 0.748 (cutters), 0.510 (soldiers), 0.375 (males) and 0.274 (females), significantly higher than A. laevigata. 3. 3. All castes considered, the b-values of the equation relating oxygen consumption and weight in A. laevigata (0.53) were significantly different from that in A. s. rubropilosa (0.73). © 1981.

Changes in cells's secretory organelles and extracellular matrix during endochondral ossification in the mandibular condyle of the growing rat

The mandibular condyle from 20-day-old rats was examined in the electron microscope with particular attention to intracellular secretory granules and extracellular matrix. Moreover, type II collagen was localized by an immunoperoxidase method. The condyle has been divided into five layers: (1) the most superficial, articular layer, (2) polymorphic cell layer, (3) flattened cell layer, (4) upper hypertrophic, and (5) lower hypertrophic cell layers. In the articular layer, the cells seldom divide, but in the polymorphic layer and upper part of the flattened cell layer, mitosis gives rise to new cells. In these layers, cells produce two types of secretory granules, usually in distinct stacks of the Golgi apparatus; type a, cylindrical granules, in which 300-nm-long threads are packed in bundles which appear lucent after formaldehyde fixation; and type b, spherical granules loaded with short, dotted filaments. The matrix is composed of thick banded lucent fibrils in a loose feltwork of short, dotted filaments. The cells arising from mitosis undergo endochondral differentiation, which begins in the lower part of the flattened cell layer and is completed in the upper hypertrophic cell layer; it is followed by gradual cell degeneration in the lower hypertrophic cell layer. The cells produce two main types of secretory granules: type b as above; and type c, ovoid granules containing 300-nm-long threads associated with short, dotted filaments. A possibly different secretory granule, type d, dense and cigar-shaped, is also produced. The matrix is composed of thin banded fibrils in a dense feltwork. In the matrix of the superficial layers, the lucency of the fibrils indicated that they were composed of collagen I, whereas the lucency of the cylindrical secretory granules suggested that they transported collagen I precursors to the matrix. Moreover, the use of ruthenium red indicated that the feltwork was composed of proteoglycan; the dotted filaments packed in spherical granules were similar to, and presumably the source of, the matrix feltwork. The superficial layers did not contain collagen II and were collectively referred to as perichondrium. In the deep layers, the ovoid secretory granules displayed collagen II antigenicity and were likely to transport precursors of this collagen to the matrix, where it appeared in the thin banded fibrils. That these granules also carried proteoglycan to the matrix was suggested by their content of short dotted filaments. Thus the deep layers contained collagen II and proteoglycan as in cartilage; they were collectively referred to as the hyaline cartilage region.

Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in vineyards that are infested or uninfested with Eurhizococcus brasiliensis (Hemiptera: Margarodidae) in Southeastern Brazil

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)