AZFc deletion detected in a newborn with prenatally diagnosed Yq deletion

A case of prenatally diagnosed Yq deletion is described. Fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH) was used to identify the abnormal chromosome and to exclude mosaicism. Based on the cytogenetic result and the ultrasound investigation the pregnancy was continued. A newborn with normal male genitalia was delivered. Microdeletion analysis of the Yq showed the absence of the AZFc region. This type of deletion has been described as being associated with azoospermia or oligozoospermia with a progressive decrease of sperm number over time. Long-term andrological follow-up of the newborn will be necessary with eventual cryoconservation of sperm at early adulthood. The present report proposes that AZF analysis combined with FISH has an important role in accurate genetic counselling in sex chromosome anomalies. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Foliar damage to parental plants interacts to influence mating success of Ipomoea purpurea

Studies of how herbivory affects plant fitness often determine whether damage to one parent alters reproductive output (i.e., seed set or paternity) but ignore the possibility that the outcome may be different if both parents were damaged (i.e., the presence of maternal x paternal damage interactions). Using inbred lines of the common morning glory, Ipomoea purpurea, I conducted a series of greenhouse experiments to test whether foliar damage from a generalist insect herbivore, Trichoplusia ni, alters male and female fitness components when neither parent, one parent, or both I. purpurea parents had been damaged. In a single-donor experiment, flowers on both damaged and undamaged maternal plants received pollen from either damaged or undamaged paternal plants. I. purpurea flowers were more likely to be aborted when they received pollen from damaged paternal plants, or when maternal plants were both damaged and grown under low-resource conditions. Foliar damaged plants also produced less seed and pollen than undamaged plants, although seed mass and pollen viability were not affected by damage. In a multiple-donor experiment, flowers on damaged and undamaged maternal plants simultaneously received pollen from damaged and undamaged paternal plants, and F1 seeds were analyzed for paternity. Damaged paternal plants had reduced siring success compared to undamaged paternal plants, and this discrepancy was most pronounced when competition occurred on damaged maternal plants. Thus, damaged maternal plants were more "selective" than undamaged maternal plants. Although previous studies have demonstrated that herbivory can alter fruit and seed production and paternity patterns, this is the first study to show that the magnitude of herbivore damage experienced by both parents can interact to influence maternal and paternal mating success.     

Disulfide connectivity and reduction in pheromone-binding proteins of the gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar

Males of the gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar, are attracted by a pheromone released by females. Pheromones are detected by olfactory neurons housed in specialized sensory hairs located on the antennae of the male moth. Once pheromone molecules enter the sensilla lymph, a highly abundant pheromone-binding protein (PBP) transports the molecule to the sensory neuron. The PBPs are members of the insect odorant-binding protein family, with six conserved cysteine residues. In this study, the disulfide bond connectivities of the pheromone-binding proteins PBP1 and PBP2 from the gypsy moth were found to be cysteines 19–54, 50–109, and 97–118 for PBP1, and cysteines 19–54, 50–110, and 97–119 for PBP2, as determined by cyanylation reactions and cyanogen bromide chemical cleavage. We have discovered that the second disulfide linkage is the most easily reduced of the three, and this same linkage is missing among four cysteine-containing insect odorant-binding proteins (OBPs). We are the first to identify the unique steric and electronic properties of this second disulfide linkage. Electronic Supplementary Material  Supplementary material is available for this article at

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Field demonstration of surfactant-enhanced solubilization of DNAPL at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware

This study reports on a surfactant-based flood for tetrachloroethylene (PCE) removal from a control test cell at the Dover National Test Site. The surfactant formulation (sodium dihexyl sulfosuccinate (Aerosol-MA or AMA), isopropanol and calcium chloride) was able to achieve a high concentration of PCE in swollen micelles (supersolubilization) without vertical PCE migration. The hydraulic system included eight screened wells that were operated in both vertical circulation and line drive configurations. After 10 pore volumes of flushing, the overall PCE removal was 68% (65% of which corresponded to the surfactant flooding alone). In addition, the residual PCE saturation was reduced from 0.7% to 0.2%, and the concentration of PCE in the groundwater was reduced from 37-190 mg/L before the flushing to 7.3 mg/L after flooding. Recycling the surfactant solution reduced the required surfactant mass (and thus cost, and waste) by 90%. Close to 80% of the total PCE removal was obtained during the first five pore volumes which were operated in an upward vertical circulation flow scheme. No free oil phase was observed during the test. Further analysis of multilevel sampler data suggests that most of the trapped oil remaining in the cell was likely localized in secluded regions of the aquifer, which helps explain the lower PCE groundwater concentration after remedial activities. In summary, this field study demonstrated the feasibility of surfactant-enhanced remediation to reduce the mass in the source zone and significantly reduce the PCE aqueous concentration and therefore the risk associated with the contaminant plume.