Easier detection of invertebrate "identification-key characters" with light of different wavelengths

The marine α-taxonomist often encounters two problems. Firstly, the "environmental dirt" that is frequently present on the specimens and secondly the difficulty in distinguishing key-features due to the uniform colours which fixed animals often adopt

Phase diagram of orbital-selective Mott transitions at finite temperatures

Mott transitions in the two-orbital Hubbard model with different bandwidths are investigated at finite temperatures. By means of the self-energy functional approach, we discuss the stability of the intermediate phase with one orbital localized and the other itinerant, which is caused by the orbital-selective Mott transition (OSMT). It is shown that the OSMT realizes two different coexistence regions at finite temperatures in accordance with the recent results of Liebsch. We further find that the particularly interesting behavior emerges around the special condition $U=U'$ and J=0, which includes a new type of the coexistence region with three distinct states. By systematically changing the Hund coupling, we establish the global phase diagram to elucidate the key role played by the Hund coupling on the Mott transitions.Comment: 4 pages, 6 figure

On General Axial Gauges for QCD

General Axial Gauges within a perturbative approach to QCD are plagued by 'spurious' propagator singularities. Their regularisation has to face major conceptual and technical problems. We show that this obstacle is naturally absent within a Wilsonian or 'Exact' Renormalisation Group approach and explain why this is so. The axial gauge turns out to be a fixed point under the flow, and the universal 1-loop running of the gauge coupling is computed.Comment: 4 pages, latex, talk presented by DFL at QCD'98, Montpellier, July 2-8, 1998; to be published in Nucl. Phys. B (Proc. Suppl.

Hypoxia enhances human B19 erythrovirus gene expression in primary erythroid cells

AbstractHuman B19 erythrovirus replicates in erythroid progenitors present in bone marrow and fetal tissues where partial oxygen tension is low. Here we show that infected human primary erythroid progenitor cells exposed to hypoxia (1% O2) in vitro increase viral capsid protein synthesis, virus replication, and virus production. Hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1), the main transcription factor involved in the cellular response to reduced oxygenation, is shown to bind an HIF binding site (HBS) located in the distal part of the B19 promoter region, but the precise mechanism involved in the oxygen-sensitive upregulation of viral gene expression remains to be elucidated

Genomic characterization of the human DNA excision repair gene ERCC-1.

In this report the genomic characterization of the human excision repair gene ERCC-1 is presented. The gene consists of 10 exons spread over approximately 15 kb. By means of a transfection assay the ERCC-1 promoter was confined to a region of + 170 bp upstream of the transcriptional start site. Classical promoter elements like CAAT, TATA and GC-boxes are absent from this region. Furthermore, ERCC-1 transcription is not UV-inducible. A possible explanation is provided for the previously reported alternative splicing of exon VIII. Analysis of ERCC-1 cDNA clones revealed the occurrence of differential polyadenylation which gives ERCC-1 transcripts of 3.4 and 3.8 kb in addition to the major 1.1 kb mRNA. Apparent evolutionary conservation of differential polyadenylation of ERCC-1 transcripts suggests a possible role for this mode of RNA processing in the ERCC-1 repair function

Cloning and characterization of the <i>Drosophila </i>homolog of the xeroderma pigmentosum complementation-group B correcting gene, <i>ERCC3</i>

Previously the human nucleotide excision repair gene ERCC3 was shown to be responsible for a rare combination of the autosomal recessive DNA repair disorders xeroderma pigmentosum (complementation group B) and Cockayne's syndrome (complementation group C). The human and mouse ERCC3 proteins contain several sequence motifs suggesting that it is a nucleic acid or chromatin binding helicase. To study the significance of these domains and the overall evolutionary conservation of the gene, the homolog from Drosophila melanogaster was isolated by low stringency hybridizations using two flanking probes of the human ERCC3 cDNA. The flanking probe strategy selects for long stretches of nucleotide sequence homology, and avoids isolation of small regions with fortuitous homology. In situ hybridization localized the gene onto chromosome III 67E3/4, a region devoid of known D.melanogaster mutagen sensitive mutants. Northern blot analysis showed that the gene is continuously expressed in all stages of fly development. A slight increase (2-3 times) of ERCC3Dm transcript was observed in the later stages. Two almost full length cDNAs were isolated, which have different 5′ untranslated regions (UTR). The SD4 cDNA harbours only one long open reading frame (ORF) coding for ERCC3Dm. Another clone (SD2), however, has the potential to encode two proteins: a 170 amino acids polypeptide starting at the optimal first ATG has no detectable homology with any other proteins currently in the data bases, and another ORF beginning at the suboptimal second startcodon which is identical to that of SD4. Comparison of the encoded ERCC3Dm protein with the homologous proteins of mouse and man shows a strong amino acid conservation (71% identity), especially in the postulated DNA binding region and seven 'helicase' domains. The ERCC3Dm sequence is fully consistent with the presumed functions and the high conservation of these regions strengthens their functional significance. Microinjection and DNA transfection of ERCC3Dm into human xeroderma pigmentosum (c.g. B) fibroblasts and group 3 rodent mutants did not yield detectable correction. One of the possibilities to explain these negative findings is that the D.melanogaster protein may be unable to function in a mammalian repair context.</p

Cloning and characterization of the <i>Drosophila </i>homolog of the xeroderma pigmentosum complementation-group B correcting gene, <i>ERCC3</i>

Previously the human nucleotide excision repair gene ERCC3 was shown to be responsible for a rare combination of the autosomal recessive DNA repair disorders xeroderma pigmentosum (complementation group B) and Cockayne's syndrome (complementation group C). The human and mouse ERCC3 proteins contain several sequence motifs suggesting that it is a nucleic acid or chromatin binding helicase. To study the significance of these domains and the overall evolutionary conservation of the gene, the homolog from Drosophila melanogaster was isolated by low stringency hybridizations using two flanking probes of the human ERCC3 cDNA. The flanking probe strategy selects for long stretches of nucleotide sequence homology, and avoids isolation of small regions with fortuitous homology. In situ hybridization localized the gene onto chromosome III 67E3/4, a region devoid of known D.melanogaster mutagen sensitive mutants. Northern blot analysis showed that the gene is continuously expressed in all stages of fly development. A slight increase (2-3 times) of ERCC3Dm transcript was observed in the later stages. Two almost full length cDNAs were isolated, which have different 5′ untranslated regions (UTR). The SD4 cDNA harbours only one long open reading frame (ORF) coding for ERCC3Dm. Another clone (SD2), however, has the potential to encode two proteins: a 170 amino acids polypeptide starting at the optimal first ATG has no detectable homology with any other proteins currently in the data bases, and another ORF beginning at the suboptimal second startcodon which is identical to that of SD4. Comparison of the encoded ERCC3Dm protein with the homologous proteins of mouse and man shows a strong amino acid conservation (71% identity), especially in the postulated DNA binding region and seven 'helicase' domains. The ERCC3Dm sequence is fully consistent with the presumed functions and the high conservation of these regions strengthens their functional significance. Microinjection and DNA transfection of ERCC3Dm into human xeroderma pigmentosum (c.g. B) fibroblasts and group 3 rodent mutants did not yield detectable correction. One of the possibilities to explain these negative findings is that the D.melanogaster protein may be unable to function in a mammalian repair context.</p

Molecular characterization of the human excision repair gene ERCC-1: cDNA cloning and aminoacid homology with the yeast DNA repair gene RAD10.

The human excision repair gene ERCC-7 was cloned after DNA mediated gene transfer to the CHO mutant 43-38, which is sensitive to ultraviolet light and mitomycin-C. We describe the cloning and sequence analysis of the ERCC-7 cDNA and partial characterization of the gene. ERCC.1 has a size of 15 kb and is located on human chromosome 19. The ERCC.1 precursor RNA is subject to alternative splicing of an internal 72 bp coding exon. Only the cDNA of the larger 1.1 kb transcript, encoding a protein of 297 amino acids, was able to confer resistance to ultraviolet light and mitomycin-C on 43-38 cells. Significant amino acid sequence homology was found between the ERCC.7 gene product and the yeast excision repair protein RADIO. The most homologous region displayed structural homology with DNA binding domains of various polypeptides

Quick spreading of populations of an exotic firefly throughout Spain and their recent arrival in the French Pyrenees

In August 2018, a firefly (Coleoptera: Lampyridae) of American origin was observed in several localities in Girona (Catalonia, Spain) and was described as Photinus immigrans by Zaragoza-Caballero and Vinolas, 2018. Here, we show that this species dispersed very quickly throughout northeastern Spain and was, in 2020, observed in the French Pyrenees. The animal’s quick progress is documented, and part of its biology is described (dispersion speed, land use, phenology, identification of all life stages). An additional population was localized in Extremadura, and its special status is discussed. We were able to determine its Argentinian–Uruguayan origin and propose, therefore, to consider Photinus immigrans as a synonym of Photinus signaticollis (Blanchard, 1846) (=Photinus immigrans Zaragoza-Caballero and Viñolas, 2018, syn. nov.). Our data clearly show that at least the Catalan and French populations are spreading very quickly and are able to settle permanently if adequate ecosystems are found. The species is highly expansive and may well be invasive; our citizen science platforms are ideally suited to monitor their progress throughout Spain and France. This is important for avoiding future ecological problems with diverse native faunas, such as glow-worms, fireflies and earthworms. If no ways are found to stop the species’ progression, the animals will quite probably invade substantial areas of France, Spain and the rest of Europe in the years to come