The physical characteristics of wood are not usually taken into account in the genetic improvement of perennial species cultivated for their fruits or seeds. Yet in coffee trees, stem breakage during harvesting, or lodging during their development are major defects in some cultivars. Such defects are linked to certain mechanical properties of the wood, such as stiffness, which can be characterized by the modulus of elasticity (Eb), a parameter used in the theory of mechanics of solids. The longitudinal Eb of several clones of the species Coffea canephora Pierre was assessed. The Eb was measured using a vibration analysis system developed at CIRAD, the "Bing" system. It is based on an analysis of vibrations caused by a blow to the tip of a piece of wood of known geometry. The Eb obtained in this way revealed substantial variability within the C. canephora study sample. Clone classification according to stiffness made it possible to identify the clones most susceptible to lodging. This technological characteristic of wood is highly heritable (0.64), meaning that effective improvement of this trait is feasible. This parameter could also be used as a predictor of other traits of agronomic interest, such as resistance to borer insects. (Résumé d'auteur)

peer reviewed | The uptake of nitrate and ammonium by the roots and leaves of Posidonia oceanica were determined between February 1993 and June 1999 by in situ experiments using the isotope 15 of nitrogen (N-15) as a tracer in a nutrient-poor coastal zone of the NW Mediterranean Sea (Revellata Bay, Corsica). Nitrate and ammonium leaf uptakes are recorded at 0.05 and 0.1 muM respectively. The high variability observed cannot be explained solely by the variation of the substrate concentrations in the water column. For leaves, mean specific uptake rates were 43 +/- 45 and 43 +/- 64 mug N g N-1 h(-1). Nitrate and ammonium leaf uptake fluxes (g N m(-2) yr(-1)) seem to have the same importance on an annual basis. :Nitrate uptake occurs mainly in winter and early spring, when nitrate concentrations in the water column are highest. The uptake of N, and mainly of ammonium, is significant throughout the year with maxima at the beginning of spring, but it is insufficient to meet the annual N requirement of the plant. Posidonia root biomass was very high and corresponded to high specific N uptake rates by the roots. Ammonium was incorporated by the roots 6 times faster than nitrate. In the sediment, this uptake capacity is limited by the nutrient diffusion rate, and the root uptake is therefore insufficient to meet the N requirements of the plant. In fact, P. oceanica of Revellata Bay have a complex N budget involving uptake and recycling processes and allowing the plants to meet their N requirements in one of the most nutrient-poor areas of the NW Mediterranean Sea. We calculated that leaf and root would contribute to 40 and 60% of the annual N uptake, respectively, and 60% of the annual N requirement of the plant.

The pectate lyase family of proteins has been shown to fold into a novel domain motif, the right-handed parallel beta-helix. As a means of gaining insight to the solution structure of the pectate lyases, the enzymes were subjected to limited proteolytic digestion by the endoproteases AspN, GluC and trypsin. The effects of proteolytic cleavage on enzymatic activity were determined, and the early products of proteolysis were identified by capillary electrophoresis, MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry and HPLC. A single peptide bond between Lys158 and Asp159 in pectate lyase B (PLb) was cleaved by both AspN and trypsin, with no detectable hydrolysis of PLb by GluC. Pectate lyase E (PLe) was hydrolyzed by trypsin between Lys164 and Asp165, a bond on an analogous loop structure found to be susceptible to proteolytic attack in PLb. AspN and GluC preferentially hydrolyzed peptide bonds (at Asp127 and Glu124, respectively) on another loop extending from the central 13-helical core of PLe. A single beta-strand of the central cylinder of the pectate lyase C (PLc) molecule was susceptible to all three proteases used. These data demonstrate that the most susceptible peptide bonds to proteolytic scission within the native enzymes lie on or near one of the three parallel 13-sheets that compose the core domain motif. Despite the proximity of the proteolytic cleavages to the catalytic sites of the enzymes, significant retention of lyase activity was observed after partial proteolysis, indicating preservation of functional tertiary structure in the proteolytic products.

Methylcellulose (MC) is ingested by humans in food and pharmaceutical formulations. The functional properties of MC like those of other linear polymers depend primarily on polymer length or molar mass for largely linear polymers. Although many studies in animals and humans have shown complete excretion of MC, in vitro human fecal fermentation studies indicate that MC can be degraded and presumably lose some of its functionality. In this study, MC polymer distribution in the feces from rats fed a diet containing 8% methylcellulose were compared to the fed MC. The water-soluble polymers in the feces were separated by a size exclusion chromatography (SEC) and the polymer distributions determined by multiple angle laser light scattering (MALLS). Detection of the fluorescent MC-calcofluor complex was used to confirm the identity of the eluting MC peak. All dietary MC was recovered in the feces. There is a small shift (P < 0.06) in the weight-averaged molecular weight of polymer distribution of MC extracted from the feces to 2.71 +/- 0.15 x 10(5) g/mol from 3.15 +/- 0.02 x 10(5) g/mol in the standard. There is also an increase in the polydispersity from 1.21 in the standard to 1.8 in the fecal extract. The distribution of the substituted methoxylated glucose monomers by gas chromatography also confirms the stability of MC fed to rats. The amount of actual hydrolysis is estimated to be about 0.1 glycosidic linkage/molecule. MC is not easily determined by standard dietary fiber methods, and SEC with MALLS and/or fluorescence may be a useful alternative.

Spatial patterns of shrub life history and Ceanothus distribution are examined in relation to topographically‐‐mediated differences in drought severity within 3 watersheds on the coastal and inland flank of the Santa Ynez Mountains, California. Spatially distributed fields of drought severity are simulated for the studied watersheds using high‐‐resolution digital terrain data and daily climate data in combination with a process‐‐based hydro‐‐ecological model ((RHESSys)). Field samples of species composition are spatially integrated with the distributed drought data for analysis of ecological relationships. Patterns of seedling recruitment type correspond to topographic variability in drought severity in ways that are consistent with concepts presented in the literature. Species that depend on fire for recruitment are increasingly represented with increasing drought severity, the converse also applies. Sites that experience moderate drought severity permit co‐‐dominance of species from both recruitment modes. Residual analysis suggests that some of the unexplained variability is related to substrate. Analyses also indicate that the distribution of 5 Ceanothus shrubs reflect differences in drought severity in ways that are consistent with their resistance to water stress‐‐induced xylem dysfunction. Species from the subgenus Cerastes sort in accordance with moisture availability and have unique spatial distributions. Results are evaluated and discussed with respect to studies on plant morphology, resource use and seedling establishment patterns.Abbreviations: DEM == Digital Elevation Model; FOV == Field of View; MT‐‐CLIM == Mountain Microclimate Simulator; RHESSys == Regional Hydro‐‐Ecological Simulation System.Nomenclature:Hickman ((1993)).

When slurries of paddy field soil were incubated anaerobically with the addition of acetate or H2, methane production from the slurries was stimulated for most of the samples, compared with those without the addition. Methanogenic activity with or without the addition of exogenous acetate or H2 was determined based on the increasing rate of methane concentration in the headspace during the incubation, and vertical distribution and seasonal changes in the activity in the paddy field soil were monitored for 2 years. In the upper plow layers, the activity markedly increased during the continuous flooding period and decreased during the intermittent irrigation period. In the deeper plow layers, however, the activity was much lower than that in the upper layers throughout the year. When the relationship between the methanogenic activity and Fe(II) content in soil was investigated by calculating the correlation coefficients between them, the activity determined with the addition of exogenous H2 showed the highest positive correlation for almost all the cases. Changes in the soil temperature or water content in soil appeared to affect the methanogenic activity differently depending on the agricultural practices during the cropping season and the depth of soil. The effect of the soil temperature on the activity was more pronounced in the deeper soil layers than in the surface soil layers in the continuously flooded soil.

Age and growth of the swordfish (Xiphias gladius) in Taiwan waters was studied from counts of growth bands on cross sections of the second ray of the first anal fin. Data on lower jaw fork length and weight, and samples of the anal fin of male and female swordfish were collected from three offshore and coastal tuna longline fishing ports on a monthly basis between September 1997 and March 1999. In total, 685 anal fins were collected and 627 of them (293 males and 334 females) were aged successfully. The lower jaw fork lengths of the aged individuals ranged from 83.4 to 246.6 cm for the females and from 83.3 to 206 cm for the males.The radii of the fin rays and growth bands on the cross sections were measured under a dissecting microscope equipped with an image analysis system. Trends in the monthly marginal increment ratio indicated that growth bands formed once a year. Thus, the age of each fish was deter-mined from the number of visible growth bands. Two methods were used to estimate and compare the standard and the generalized von Bertalanffy growth parameters for both males and females. The nonlinear least square estimates of the generalized von Bertalanffy growth parameters in method II, in which a power function was used to describe the relationship between ray radius and LJFL, were recommended as most acceptable. There were significant differences in growth parameters between males and females. The growth parameters estimated for females were the following: asymptotic length (L∞) = 300.66 cm, growth coefficient (K) = 0.040/yr, age at zero length (t0) = –0.75 yr, and the fitted fourth parameter (m) = –0.785. The growth parameters estimated for males were the following: asymptotic length (L∞) = 213.05 cm, growth coefficient (K) = 0.086/yr, age at zero length (t0) = –0.626 yr, and the fitted fourth parameter (m) = –0.768.