Andreas and The fates of the apostles; two Anglo-Saxon narrative poems;

The "andreas" is often ascribed to Cynewulf, and the "Fata apostolorum" is considered his undoubted work. For full discussion of authorship, cf. Introd. (p. xxxiii-li)

Rooting cuttings of Syringa vulgaris cv. Charles Joly and Corylus avellana cv. Aurea: the influence of stock plant pruning and shoot growth

The relationship between shoot growth and rooting was examined in two, 'difficult-to root' amenity trees, Syringa vulgaris L. cv. Charles Joly and Corylus avellana L. cv. Aurea. A range of treatments reflecting severity of pruning was imposed on field-grown stock prior to bud break. To minimise variation due to the numbers of buds that developed under different treatments, bud number was restricted to 30 per plant. Leafy cuttings were harvested at different stages of the active growth phase of each species. With Syringa, rooting decreased with later harvests, but loss of rooting potential was delayed in cuttings collected from the most severe pruning treatment. Rooting potential was associated with the extent of post-excision shoot growth on the cutting but regression analyses indicated that this relationship could not entirely explain the loss of rooting with time, nor the effects due to pruning. Similarly, in Corylus rooting was promoted by severe pruning, but the relationship between apical growth on the cutting and rooting was weaker than in Syringa, and only at the last harvest did growth play a critical role in determining rooting. Another unusual factor of the last harvest of Corylus was a bimodal distribution of roots per cutting, with very few rooted cuttings having less than five roots. This implies that, for this harvest at least, the potential of an individual cutting to root is probably not limited by the number of potential rooting sites.

东灵山地区辽东栎种群生物学研究

辽东栎是我国暖温带落叶阔叶林主要优势种之一。它具有很强的萌蘖能力，在东灵山地区存在于多种林分中，并成为辽东栎林和落叶阔叶混交林的优势种。本文以植物种群构件理论为基础，对辽东栎的种子、幼苗、幼树和成体四个阶段不同侧面进行了调查统计和试验分析。初步得出如下结果： 1. 种子库统计表明：（1）种子雨持续时间短、强度大，种子散落总密度为123个m~2。（2）土壤种子库存在时间约100天左右，种子密度最高时为42.7个／m~2。（3）土壤种子库输出途径主要有死亡后腐烂、发芽、动物当场取食和搬运，其中动物搬运是影响种子库动态的最重要因子。（4）动物搬运和取食是影响种子命运的主要因素，如果没有该因素的影响，辽东栎能够完成从种子到幼苗的过程;（5）被啮齿动物贮藏的种子大多被取食，极少存活;（6）地表覆盖物能减少动物搬运、取食的影响，但对成苗效果不明显。 2. 干旱处理和模拟去叶试验的结果表明：（1）干旱将显著降低单叶面积、叶面积比和叶比重，从而也显著降低了单株生物量，但根比重却较对照组有显著上升;（2）去叶显著提高了单株叶数、叶面积比和叶比重，尽管单株生物量只稍高于对照组。这说明了辽东栎幼苗在去叶后具有一定的补偿能力。 3. 芽的命运调查发现：（1）辽东栎的芽或保持休眠状态，或死亡后脱落，或分化为营养枝、雄花枝、雄花序、雌花枝和两花枝等;（2）不同生境中芽的命运不同，生活在林窗中的幼树上的芽分化为具有生殖功能的枝条的比例高于郁闭林中的幼树，而与成熟个体接近;（3）同一个体内部，上层芽分化为生殖枝的比例明显大于中、下层;（4）芽的命运与枝长关系密切，长枝上的芽分化为生殖枝的可能性较大;（5）结实枝的平均枝长、枝上平均叶数都明显高于非结实枝。 4. 构型分析表明：（1）不同发育阶段的辽东栎个体的分枝格局不同：幼苗阶段，高生长显著，枝条伸长较快，但分枝率低;幼树阶段，分枝率显著小于成株阶段;但上层枝条的平均枝节倾角大于其它两阶段，上层枝条的长度也大于成株阶段;成株阶段，冠幅迅速扩展，分枝率较前两时期显著增加，同时顶端优势减弱，引起休眠芽萌生苗的发生。（2）不同生境的辽东栎个体分枝格局也有较大差异：混交林中的辽栎个体多生活在林隙中，同灌丛中的个体相比，枝冠窄小，枝倾角较大，第一枝级枝条（上层）较长，但分枝率较小叶面积指数较低;枝、叶的方位角，叶倾角（上层）在不同生境中未发生显著变化。 5. 叶群体统计表明：（1）不同个体，同一个体内部不同层次，叶数量动态趋势都基本一致。现叶期和叶落半衰期很短，现叶方式为爆发型;（2）不同个体间叶期差异很大，暗示在辽东栎种群内部或许存在有强烈的遗传分化。 6. 对叶的生长和光合作用测定发现：（1）辽东栎叶的长度、面积和干重的增加有共同趋势：即在叶生长早期增加很快，其后渐渐降低，叶长度、面积约在六月初达极大值，叶干重稍后达极大值;（2）净光合速率在整个生生季里随叶的生长发育是先上升，至七月中旬达极大值，然后逐渐下降;而暗呼吸速率除在落叶前有微弱上升外，一直都处在下降状态;（3）叶的净光合速率日进程具“午休”现象，可能由高温和强光照引起;（4）叶的形成初期，碳的输入较高，展叶后约十天左右，输入输出达到平衡;碳输出在七月中旬达极大值，随后下降。可见：（5）叶的光合能力与叶的生长发育状况有密切关系。 7. 对叶养分季节动态的测定表明：（1）N、P、K、Ca、Mg、Fe等6种元素的浓度和贮量在叶的生活史中都发生了明显的季节变化，其中N、P、K等3种元素的浓度在展叶初期下降很快，随后逐渐下降的，但贮量是在7月下旬达到最大值;（2）Ca浓度和贮量整个生长季中一直保持上升趋势，Mg的季节变化无一定规律;（3）N、P、K、Mg都有一定程度的回收，其中N、P的回收率分别为67％和，Ca、Fe在叶中有所积累。 对栎属植物养分动态的比较分析表明：（1）落叶植物成熟叶中的N浓度显著高于常绿植物，但N、P的回收率与成熟叶中的浓度无明显相关性;（2）栎属植物的成熟叶和落叶中的N、P浓度间呈显著相关。

Notch signaling controls the balance of ciliated and secretory cell fates in developing airways

Although there is accumulated evidence of a role for Notch in the developing lung, it is still unclear how disruption of Notch signaling affects lung progenitor cell fate and differentiation events in the airway epithelium. To address this issue, we inactivated Notch signaling conditionally in the endoderm using a Shh-Cre deleter mouse line and mice carrying floxed alleles of the Pofut1 gene, which encodes an O-fucosyltransferase essential for Notch-ligand binding. We also took the same conditional approach to inactivate expression of Rbpjk, which encodes the transcriptional effector of canonical Notch signaling. Strikingly, these mutants showed an almost identical lung phenotype characterized by an absence of secretory Clara cells without evidence of cell death, and showed airways populated essentially by ciliated cells, with an increase in neuroendocrine cells. This phenotype could be further replicated in cultured wild-type lungs by disrupting Notch signaling with a gamma-secretase inhibitor. Our data suggest that Notch acts when commitment to a ciliated or non-ciliated cell fate occurs in proximal progenitors, silencing the ciliated program in the cells that will continue to expand and differentiate into secretory cells. This mechanism may be crucial to define the balance of differentiated cell profiles in different generations of the developing airways. It might also be relevant to mediate the metaplastic changes in the respiratory epithelium that occur in pathological conditions, such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Investigating the Diversity of Radial Glia Fates in the Rat Neocortex

Radial Glia (RG) are a mitotically active population of cells which reside within the ventricular zone at the lateral ventricle and give rise to the pyramidal neurons and astrocytes of the neocortex. Through cellular divisions, RG produce two daughter cells, one which resides in the ventricular zone and becomes another RG while the other is an immature progenitor which migrates away from the ventricle and populates the growing cortex. RG have been found to be a heterogeneous population of cells which express different surface antigens and genetic promoters which may influence the cellular fate of their progeny. In this study we have investigated the progenitor profiles of two promoters, nestin (a neural intermediate filament) and GLAST (astrocyte specific glutamate transporter) within the RG. In-utero electroporation was used to transfect reporter plasmids under the control of promoter driven Cre-Recombinase into the RG lining the lateral ventricle during mid-neurogensesis (E14). It was found that there was a large amount of overlap between the nestin and GLAST expressing populations of RG, however, there was still a small subset of cells which exclusively expressed GLAST. This prompted us to investigate the lineage of these two promoters using the PiggyBac transposon system which uses promoter driven episomal plasmids to incorporate a reporter gene into the genome of the transfected cells, allowing use to trace their full progeny. Our data shows that nestin expressing RG generate mostly neurons and few astrocytes while the GLAST expressing RG generate a greater proportion of astrocytes to neurons.

Interleaflet clear space is reduced in the membrane of COP I and COP II-coated buds/vesicles.

Intracellular transfers between membrane-bound compartments occur through vesicles that bud from a donor compartment to fuse subsequently with an acceptor membrane. We report that the membrane that delimits COP I or COP II-coated buds/vesicles from the endoplasmic reticulum and the Golgi complex has a thinner interleaflet clear space as compared with the surrounding, noncoated parental membrane. This change is compatible with a compositional change of the membrane bilayer during the budding process.

Kiwifruit floral gene APETALA2 is alternatively spliced and accumulates in aberrant indeterminate flowers in the absence of miR172

In Arabidopsis, the identity of perianth and reproductive organs are specified by antagonistic action of two floral homeotic genes, APETALA2 (AP2) and AGAMOUS (AG). AP2 is also negatively regulated by an evolutionary conserved interaction with a microRNA, miR172, and has additional roles in general plant development. A kiwifruit gene with high levels of homology to AP2 and AP2-like genes from other plant species was identified. The transcript was abundant in the kiwifruit flower, particularly petal, suggesting a role in floral organ identity. Splice variants were identified, all containing both AP2 domains, including a variant that potentially produces a shorter transcript without the miRNA172 targeting site. Increased AP2 transcript accumulation was detected in the aberrant flowers of the mutant 'Pukekohe dwarf' with multiple perianth whorls and extended petaloid features. In contrast to normal kiwifruit flowers, the aberrant flowers failed to accumulate miR172 in the developing whorls, although accumulation was detected at the base of the flower. An additional role during dormancy in kiwifruit was proposed based on AP2 transcript accumulation in axillary buds before and after budbreak.

The function of Bmps and Runx2 in normal tooth development and in the pathogenesis of cleidocranial dysplasia

The development of many embryonic organs is regulated by reciprocal and sequential epithelial-mesenchymal interactions. These interactions are mediated by conserved signaling pathways that are reiteratively used. Cleidocranial dysplasia (CCD) is a congenital syndrome where both bone and tooth development is affected. The syndrome is characterized by short stature, abnormal clavicles, general bone dysplasia, and supernumerary teeth. CCD is caused by mutations in RUNX2, a transcription factor that is a key regulator of osteoblast differentiation and bone formation. The first aim of this study was to analyse the expression of a family of key signal molecules, Bone morphogenetic protein (Bmp) at different stages of tooth development. Bmps have a variety of functions and they were originally discovered as signals inducing ectopic bone formation. We performed a comparative in situ hybridisation analysis of the mRNA expression of Bmp2-7 from initiation of tooth development to differentiation of dental hard tissues. The expression patterns indicated that the Bmps signal between the epithelial and mesenchymal tissues during initiation and morphogenesis of tooth development, as well as during the differentiation of odontoblasts and ameloblasts. Furthermore, they are also part of the signalling networks whereby the enamel knot regulates the patterning of tooth cusps. The second aim was to study the role of Runx2 during tooth development and thereby to gain better understanding of the pathogenesis of the tooth phenotype in CCD. We analysed the tooth phenotype of Runx2 knockout mice and examined the patterns and regulation of Runx2 gene expression.. The teeth of wild-type and Runx2 mutant mice were compared by several methods including in situ hybridisation, tissue culture, bead implantation experiments, and epithelial-mesenchymal recombination studies. Phenotypic analysis of Runx2 -/- mutant tooth development showed that teeth failed to advance beyond the bud stage. Runx2 expression was restricted to dental mesenchyme between the bud and early bell stages of tooth development and it was regulated by epithelial signals, in particular Fgfs. We searched for downstream targets of Runx2 by comparative in situ hybridisation analysis. The expression of Fgf3 was downregulated in the mesenchyme of Runx2 -/- teeth. Shh expression was absent from the enamel knot in the lower molars of Runx2 -/- and reduced in the upper molars. In conclusion, these studies showed that Runx2 regulates key epithelial-mesenchymal interactions that control advancing tooth morphogenesis and histodifferentiation of the epithelial enamel organ. In addition, in the upper molars of Runx2 mutants extra buddings occured at the palatal side of the tooth bud. We suggest that Runx2 acts as an inhibitor of successional tooth formation by preventing advancing development of the buds. Accordingly, we propose that RUNX2 haploinsuffiency in humans causes incomplete inhibition of successional tooth formation and as a result supernumerary teeth.

Insect induced bud fall in cultivated hibiscus and aspects of the biology of Macroura concolor (Macleay) (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae)

The influence of insect attack on bud fall and subsequent poor flowering in cultivated hibiscus (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis) was studied in cages and in the field in southern Queensland. Three species of Hemiptera (most importantly Aulacosternum nigrorubrum but also Nezara viridula and Tectocoris diophthalmus) caused some bud fall in 2 plantations studied. Adults of Macroura concolor suppressed flowering for long periods in spring and summer. Data from white funnel traps and counts in flowers showed that M. concolor was most active in these seasons. Methiocarb (0.75 g a.i./litre) reduced beetle numbers and increased flowering. When 15 or more adults of M. concolor occurred per bud (or flower) most buds fell and few flowers were produced, but when beetles declined to 10 or fewer many buds survived and widespread flowering occurred. Larvae fed in fallen buds and flowers and the mean duration of development of the combined immature stages was 14 days at 26 deg C. The preference of adults of M. concolor for pale coloured flowers was examined. Hibiscus plants produced most buds from December to June with lower numbers in winter and spring (July to November). Bud production in spring and early summer (September-December) varied greatly and probably contributed to poor flowering, however, even when large numbers of buds occurred very few flowers were produced because of the activities of M. concolor.

The logic of receptor-ligand interactions in the Notch signaling pathway

The Notch signaling pathway enables neighboring cells to coordinate developmental fates in diverse processes such as angiogenesis, neuronal differentiation, and immune system development. Although key components and interactions in the Notch pathway are known, it remains unclear how they work together to determine a cell's signaling state, defined as its quantitative ability to send and receive signals using particular Notch receptors and ligands. Recent work suggests that several aspects of the system can lead to complex signaling behaviors: First, receptors and ligands interact in two distinct ways, inhibiting each other in the same cell (in cis) while productively interacting between cells (in trans) to signal. The ability of a cell to send or receive signals depends strongly on both types of interactions. Second, mammals have multiple types of receptors and ligands, which interact with different strengths, and are frequently co-expressed in natural systems. Third, the three mammalian Fringe proteins can modify receptor-ligand interaction strengths in distinct and ligand-specific ways. Consequently, cells can exhibit non-intuitive signaling states even with relatively few components.

In order to understand what signaling states occur in natural processes, and what types of signaling behaviors they enable, this thesis puts forward a quantitative and predictive model of how the Notch signaling state is determined by the expression levels of receptors, ligands, and Fringe proteins. To specify the parameters of the model, we constructed a set of cell lines that allow control of ligand and Fringe expression level, and readout of the resulting Notch activity. We subjected these cell lines to an assay to quantitatively assess the levels of Notch ligands and receptors on the surface of individual cells. We further analyzed the dependence of these interactions on the level and type of Fringe expression. We developed a mathematical modeling framework that uses these data to predict the signaling states of individual cells from component expression levels. These methods allow us to reconstitute and analyze a diverse set of Notch signaling configurations from the bottom up, and provide a comprehensive view of the signaling repertoire of this major signaling pathway.

New symbiotic hypothesis on the origin of eukaryotic flagella

The origin of eukaryotic flagella has long been a mystery. Here we review the possibility that flagella sprouted evolutionarily from the eukaryotic cell proper seems very unlikely because it is hard to imagine what function and benefit in natural selection the flagella would have provided to the cells when they first emerged as simple buds. Lynn Margulis' 1970 spirochete hypothesis, though popular still, has never been confirmed. Moreover, the absence of tubulin and axonemal dynein in the spirochetes and the incapability of the bacterial and eukaryotic membranes' making a continuum now suggest that the hypothesis is outdated. Tubulin genes were recently identified in a new bacteria division, verrucomicrobia, and microtubules have also been found in one of these species, epixenosomes, the defensive ectosymbionts. On the basis of these data, we propose a new symbiotic hypothesis: that the mid-ancestor of eukaryotic cells obtained epixenosomelike verrucomicrobia as defensive ectosymbionts and the ectosymbionts later became endosymbiotic. They still, however, protruded from the surface of their host to play their role. Later, many genes were lost or incorporated into the host genome. Finally, the genome, the bacterial membrane, and the endosymbiotic vesicle membrane were totally lost, and fingerlike protrusions with microtubules formed. As the cells grew larger, the defensive function of the protrusions eventually weakened and then vanished. Some of the protrusions took on a new role in cell movement, which led them to evolve into flagella. The key step in this process was that the dynein obtained from the host evolved into axonemal dyneins, attaching onto the microtubules and forming motile axonemes. Our hypothesis is unproven, but it offers a possible explanation that is consistent with current scientific thought. We hope that our ideas will stimulate additional studies on the origin of eukaryotic flagella and on investigations of verrucomicrobia. Whether such studies confirm, refine, or replace our hypothesis, they should nevertheless further our understanding of the origin of eukaryotic cells.