Search results for " zoology"
showing 10 items of 2242 documents
Ontogenetic variations of some enzymes indicentrarchus labrax(Serranidae)
1989
Abstract The ontogenesis of isozyme patterns of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH), glycerol‐3‐phosphate dehydrogenase (α‐GPDH), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), malate dehydrogenase (MDH), glucose‐6‐phosphate dehydrogenase (G‐6‐PD) and glucosephosphate isomer‐ase (GPI) in Dicentrarchus labrax was studied. ADH is active only in the liver of the adult; a‐GPDH is active in only two tissues in the adult: the A2 isozyme in white skeletal muscle and the B2 isozyme in the liver. Differential gene expression was found only for LDH, MDH and GPI, which have polymeric structure. The LDH, MDH and GPI isozymes 30 days after hatching were completely active and showed patterns very similar to those of the adult. Sp…
The effect of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on total plant nitrogen uptake and nitrogen recovery from soil organic material
2013
SUMMARYArbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi increase nitrogen (N) uptake by their host plants, but their role in plant N capture from soil organic material is still unclear. In particular, it is not clear if AM fungi compete with the host plant for the N coming from the decomposing organic matter (OM), especially when the AM extraradical mycelium (ERM) and plant roots share the same soil volume. The goal of the present research was to study the effects of AM fungi on wheat N capture after the addition of 15N-labelled OM to soil. Durum wheat (Triticum durum) was grown under controlled conditions in a sand:soil mix and the following treatments were applied: (1) AM inoculation with Glomus mosseae…
Locust flight metabolism studied in vivo by 31P NMR spectroscopy
1991
Flight metabolism of locusts has been extensively studied, but biochemical and physiological methods have led to conflicting results. For this reason the non-invasive and non-destructive method of 31P NMR spectroscopy was used to study migratory locusts, Locusta migratoria, at rest and during flight. 1. In the flight muscle of resting locusts the ratio of phosphoarginine to ATP was the same whether determined by NMR (1.76) or biochemically, but the NMR-visible content of inorganic phosphate (Pi) was only 40% of ATP, i.e., much lower than total Pi as determined biochemically. This suggests that most of the Pi in flight muscle is not free, and hence not available as substrate or effector for …
In vivo digestibility and nutritive value of Atriplex halimus alone and mixed with wheat straw
2002
In vivo digestibility trials were carried out using six young rams fed with Atriplex halimus biomass harvested in summer (A) and in early autumn (B), and with a mixture of mid-autumn Atriplex halimus and wheat straw (5[ratio ]1 ratio on fresh matter basis) (C). Atriplex halimus had a high protein content (139·0, 135·9 and 193·4 g/kg DM in A, B and C respectively), but was rich in sodium chloride, especially in summer (145·9 g/kg DM), limiting its use as feed. The summer forage had a higher organic matter (OM) digestibility coefficient than the autumn forage (0·663 v. 0·530) but lower digestible OM intake (16·8 v. 29·4 g/day per kg BW0·75). In autumn forage, the combination with straw did no…
Properties of sea urchin coelomocyte agglutinins
1996
We examined some biological activities of a 200-kDa glycoprotein, referred to as Paracentrotus lividus vitellogenin, contained both in the coelomic fluid and in a subpopulation of coelomocytes called «colourless spherula cells». Cell-free coelomic fluid, coelomocyte lysate and supernatant obtained after coelomocyte washings were assayed for hemagglutinating activity. All samples agglutinated rabbit erythrocytes in a calcium-dependent way. The comparison between the electrophoretic patterns of erythrocyte lysates, before and after incubation with the coelomic fluid, revealed that a 200-kDa band was obtained from membranes of agglutinated erythrocytes. In addition, polyclonal antibodies again…
Changes in ewe milk fatty acids following turning out to pasture
2008
Abstract Ten Comisana dairy ewes were selected to observe time of changing in milk fatty acids as a result of switching from stall to pasture feeding. At first, ewes were subjected to a stall-feeding period of 30 days (pre-experimental phase). After which, ewes were abruptly turned out to a vetch and oats pasture as their sole feed (experimental phase). Individual milk samples were collected on experimental days 0 (the last day of stall feeding), 1–4, 8, 11, 17 and 23. Milk and feeds fatty acid composition was determined by gas chromatography. The sudden passage from a stall to a pasture diet significantly modified the fatty acid profile of ewe milk. Medium- and long-chain fatty acids were …
Metabolic integration in locust flight: the effect of octopamine on fructose 2,6-bisphosphate content of flight muscle in vivo
1994
The biogenic amine octopamine was injected into the haemolymph of 20-days old male locusts,Locusta migratoria, and the content of fructose 2,6-bisphosphate, a potent activator of glycolysis, was measured in the flight muscle after various time. Octopamine brought about a transient increase in fructose 2,6-bisphosphate. After the injection of 10 μl of 10 mmol·l-1 d, l-octopamine fructose 2,6-bisphosphate was increased by 61% within 2 min. Ten minutes after the injection fructose 2,6-bisphosphate was increased to 6.71±0.89 nmol·g-1 flight muscle, almost 300% over the control value. Flight caused fructose 2,6-bisphosphate in flight muscle to decrease, but this decrease was counteracted by octo…
Trophic habits of Muscardinus avellanarius (Mammalia Gliridae) as revealed by multiple stable isotope analysis
2007
Multiple stable isotope analysis was used to investigate the diet of the common dormouse Muscardinus avellanarius in a mixed Mediterranean forest. δ13C and δ15N values of dormouse tissues compared to those of the vegetal and animal sources available in the area showed that the isotopic composition of both adult and juvenile M. avellanarius could be explained by a mixture of vegetal and animal organic matter. The isotopic composition of the assimilated nitrogen was mostly explained by the organic matter from flora. Among the vegetal components, flowers of Fagus silvatica, Quercus robur, and the rarer Crataegus oxyacantha, berries of Ilex aquifolium and acorns of Q. robur were found in the ad…
Production of volatile compounds in model milk and cheese media by eight strains of Geotrichum candidum Link
1994
SummaryEight strains of Geotrichum candidum isolated from cheese were compared for aroma production. Twenty-four components, including alcohols, methyl ketones, fatty acids and esters, were identified by gas–liquid chromatography and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry of the volatile compounds produced by G. candidum cultures. Strains could be differentiated by their ability to produce dimethyldisulphide, phenol, phenylethanol and methyl ketones.
A STUDY ON THE POSSIBLE EFFECT OF TWO CRAYFISH SPECIES ON EPILITHIC ALGAE IN A MOUNTAIN STREAM FROM CENTRAL SPAIN
2006
The effects on epilithic algae of increasing densities of two crayfish species, Austropotamobius italicus and Pacifastacus leniusculus, the latter recently introduced in Spain, have been monitored using riverine enclosures, within a large experimental study on crayfish-macrobenthos interactions in a mountain stream. A 3-month test was carried out for each species using crayfish densities comprising between 0-5 individuals/m2 kept in 1-m2 enclosures. Epilithon was sampled periodically within the enclosures and chlorophyll a, b and c were measured by spectrophotometry. Neither statistically significant positive nor negative effects were observed on algal abundance (Chl concentrations) during …