Splitting Genes: The Future of GMO\u27s in the Wake of the WTO/Cartagena Standoff

This article examines the conflict surrounding GMO\u27s (Genetically Modified Organisms) between the WTO and the UN. The respective positions of the United States and the European Union are discussed. The article argues that both international and domestic laws conflict with the rigid precautionary principle and straight to market approach adhered to by the European Union and the United States respectively. It ultimately suggests that common GMO specific laws are necessary for both sides to meet their respective goals and obligations

Host species composition influences infection severity among amphibians in the absence of spillover transmission

Wildlife epidemiological outcomes can depend strongly on the composition of an ecological community, particularly when multiple host species are affected by the same pathogen. However, the relationship between host species richness and disease risk can vary with community context and with the degree of spillover transmission that occurs among co‐occurring host species. We examined the degree to which host species composition influences infection by Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), a widespread fungal pathogen associated with amphibian population declines around the world, and whether transmission occurs from one highly susceptible host species to other co‐occurring host species. By manipulating larval assemblages of three sympatric amphibian species in the laboratory, we characterized the relationship between host species richness and infection severity, whether infection mediates growth and survivorship differently across various combinations of host species, and whether Bd is transmitted from experimentally inoculated tadpoles to uninfected tadpoles. We found evidence of a dilution effect where Bd infection severity was dramatically reduced in the most susceptible of the three host species (Anaxyrus boreas). Infection also mediated survival and growth of all three host species such that the presence of multiple host species had both positive (e.g., infection reduction) and negative (e.g., mortality) effects on focal species. However, we found no evidence that Bd infection is transmitted by this species. While these results demonstrate that host species richness as well as species identity underpin infection dynamics in this system, dilution is not the product of reduced transmission via fewer infectious individuals of a susceptible host species. We discuss various mechanisms, including encounter reduction and antagonistic interactions such as competition and opportunistic cannibalism that may act in concert to mediate patterns of infection severity, growth, and mortality observed in multihost communities.There are many ways in which infection can be influenced by species diversity. Here we show experimentally that the interactions between species in a multi‐host amphibian community drive the severity of infection by the amphibian chytrid fungus. We find no evidence that infection is transmitted between two host species in our study, suggesting that spillover infection is not a cause of dilution effects in this system.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/111214/1/ece31385.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/111214/2/ece31385-sup-0001-FigureS1.pd

Constraints on Voltage Sensor Movement in the Shaker K+ Channel

In nerve and muscle cells, the voltage-gated opening and closing of cation-selective ion channels is accompanied by the translocation of 12–14 elementary charges across the membrane's electric field. Although most of these charges are carried by residues in the S4 helix of the gating module of these channels, the precise nature of their physical movement is currently the topic of spirited debate. Broadly speaking, two classes of models have emerged: those that suggest that small-scale motions can account for the extensive charge displacement, and those that invoke a much larger physical movement. In the most recent incarnation of the latter type of model, which is based on structural and functional data from the archaebacterial K+ channel KvAP, a “voltage-sensor paddle” comprising a helix-turn-helix of S3–S4 translocates ∼20 Å through the bilayer during the gating cycle (Jiang, Y., A. Lee, J. Chen, V. Ruta, M. Cadene, B.T. Chait, and R. MacKinnon. 2003. Nature. 423:33–41; Jiang, Y., V. Ruta, J. Chen, A. Lee, and R. MacKinnon. 2003. Nature. 423:42–48.; Ruta, V., J. Chen, and R. MacKinnon. 2005. Cell. 123:463–475). We used two methods to test for analogous motions in the Shaker K+ channel, each examining the aqueous exposure of residues near S3. In the first, we employed a pore-blocking maleimide reagent (Blaustein, R.O., P.A. Cole, C. Williams, and C. Miller. 2000. Nat. Struct. Biol. 7:309–311) to probe for state-dependent changes in the chemical reactivity of substituted cysteines; in the second, we tested the state-dependent accessibility of a tethered biotin to external streptavidin (Qiu, X.Q., K.S. Jakes, A. Finkelstein, and S.L. Slatin. 1994. J. Biol. Chem. 269:7483–7488; Slatin, S.L., X.Q. Qiu, K.S. Jakes, and A. Finkelstein. 1994. Nature. 371:158–161). In both types of experiments, residues predicted to lie near the top of S3 did not exhibit any change in aqueous exposure during the gating cycle. This lack of state dependence argues against large-scale movements, either axially or radially, of Shaker's S3–S4 voltage-sensor paddle

Coexpression of ERβ with ERα and Progestin Receptor Proteins in the Female Rat Forebrain: Effects of Estradiol Treatment

Estrogen and progestin receptors (ER, PgR) play a critical role in the regulation of neuroendocrine functions in females. The neuroanatomical distribution of the recently cloned, ERβ, overlaps with both ERα and PgR. To determine whether ERβ is found within ERα- or PgR-containing neurons in female rat, we used dual label immunocytochemistry. ERβ-immunoreactivity (ERβ-ir) was primarily detected in the nuclei of cells in the periventricular preoptic area (PvPO), the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNSTpr), the paraventricular nucleus, the supraoptic nucleus, and the medial amygdala (MEApd). Coexpression of ERβ-ir with ERα-ir or PgR-ir was observed in the PvPO, BNSTpr, and MEApd in ovariectomized rats. E2 treatment decreased the number of ERβ-ir cells in the PvPO and BNSTpr and the number of ERα-ir cells in the MEApd and paraventricular nucleus, and therefore decreased the number of cells coexpressing ERβ-ir and ERα-ir in the PvPO, BNSTpr, and MEApd. E2 treatment increased the amount of PgR-ir in cells of the PvPO, BNSTpr, and MEApd, a portion of which also contained ERβ. These results demonstrate that ERβ is expressed in ERα- or PgR-containing cells, and they suggest that E can modulate the ratios of these steroid receptors in a brain region-specific manner

Chlorotetracycline As An Indicator Of The Interaction Of Calcium With Brain Membrane Fractions

The fluorescence of chlorotetracycline (CTC) in the presence of synaptosomes isolated from sheep brain is selectively increased by Ca2+ under conditions in which Mg2+, Na+, K+, Li+ or choline have only a small effect. The monovalent cations release bound Ca2+ from synaptosomes, and this effect is reflected by a decrease in the CTC fluorescence. Under optimal conditions there is a near parallelism between Ca2+ and CTC binding to the synaptosomes membranes, and Li+ is the monovalent cation tested which interferes the most with the binding of both substances. These results obtained in a predominantly sucrose medium become less distinct when media simulating physiological composition are utilized, which limits the usefulness of the method. Brain mitochondria and myelin also bind Ca2+ and CTC. The ratio of the fluorescence signal (or CTC bound) to Ca2+ bound is highest of all for mitochondrial membranes, and the apparent fluorescence quantum yield of CTC is also the highest in these membranes, which suggests that the Ca2+ in these membranes is localized in a more apolar region than is the case for synaptosomes and myelin