P001-02 Nitric oxide synthase-mediated phytoalexin accumulation
in soybean cotyledons in response to the Diaporthe phaseolorum f.
sp. meridionalis elicitor
Modolo L V, Cunha F Q, Braga M R, Salgado I*
Phytoalexin biosynthesis is part of the defense mechanism of soybean
plants against attack by the fungus Diaporthe phaseolorum f. sp. meridionalis
(Dpm). The treatment of soybean cotyledons with Dpm elicitor or with
sodium nitroprusside (SNP), a NO donor, resulted in a high accumulation
of phytoalexins. Phytoalexin accumulation induced by the fungal elicitor,
but not by SNP, was prevented when cotyledons were pretreated with
NOS inhibitors. NOS activity was not observed in SNP-elicited tissues.
An antibody to brain NOS labeled a 166 kDa protein in elicited and
non-elicited cotyledons. Daidzein, genistein, glyceollins, apigenin
and luteolin were identified following exposure to the elicitor or
SNP, although the accumulation of glyceollins and apigenin was limited
in SNP- compared to fungal-elicited cotyledons. The results indicate
that the response of soybean cotyledons to Dpm involves NO formation
via a NOS-like enzyme that triggers the biosynthesis of anti-microbial
flavonoids.
Plant Physiology 130: 1288-1297, 2002. IF = 5.105
* E-mail: ionesm@unicamp.br
P002-02 Participation of the mitochoncrial permeability
transition pore in nitric oxide-induced plant cell death
Saviani EE, Orsi SH, Oliveira JFP, Pinto-Maglio CAF, Salgado I*
FEBS Letters 510: 136-140, 2002. IF = 3.644 (Idem A024-01)
* E-mail: ionesm@unicamp.br
P003-02 Parallels between plants and animals in
the production and molecular targets of nitric oxide
Salgado I*, Modolo LV, Ribeiro JN, Magalhães JR, Tamashiro
WMSC
Physiology and Molecular Biology of Plants 8: 185-191, 2002. (idem
A022-01)
*E-mail: ionesm@unicamp.br
P004-02 Nitric oxide and nitrate reductase in higher plants
Magalhães JR, Silva FLIM, Salgado I*, Filho OF, Rockel P, Kaise
WM
Physiology and Molecular Biology of Plants 8: 11-17, 2002. (idem A023-01)
*E-mail: ionesm@unicamp.br
P005-02 Foraging ecology of the giant Amazonian
ant Dinoponera gigantea (Hymenoptera, Formicidae, Ponerinae): activity
schedule, diet, and spatial foraging patterns
Fourcassié V, Oliveira PS*
We provide an account of the foraging biology of the ponerine ant
Dinoponera gigantea in a rainforest in N Brazil. The species nests
on the ground and the colonies contain 70-96 workers. Ant activity
is negatively correlated with temperature, and is more intense at
dawn and dusk. Workers collect seeds and fruits, and hunt for live
prey as well as scavenge for dead animal matter. The dry weight of
food items ranges from < 10 mg (spiders, insect parts) to >
400 mg (seeds, fruits). No nestmate recruitment exists during the
search for or retrieval of food. Foragers have a high directional
fidelity, and ants from neighbouring colonies may engage in a ritualised
territorial contests at the border of their foraging areas. The foraging
ecology of D. gigantea when compared with other ponerine species living
in tropical forests, and with other ant groups showed similar behavioural
patterns.
Journal of Natural History 36: 2211-2227, 2002. IF = 0.619
*E-mail : *pso@unicamp.br
P006-02 Ants affect the distribution and performance
of Clusia criuva seedlings, a primarily bird-dispersed rainforest
tree
Passos L, Oliveira PS*
We studied the dispersal system of the tree Clusia criuva (Clusiaceae)
in a tropical rainforest in SE Brazil. Clusia trees produce hundreds
of capsules with small lipid-rich arillate seeds. Birds (16 species)
eat 83% of the diaspores on the tree, while the remaining 17% fall
to the ground and are removed by ants (16 species). Ants remove 89%
of the fallen diaspores and 98% of the seeds found in bird faeces.
Aril removal by ants and removal of seeds from bird defecations increase
germination success in C. criuva. Early seedling survival (1 yr) in
nests of Pachycondyla striata is greater than in control areas. Soil
samples from nests of P. striata also had higher concentrations of
total nitrogen than random soil samples. This is the first study to
demonstrate the combined effects of ants on the distribution and survival
of seedlings of a primarily vertebrate-dispersed plant in a tropical
forest.
Journal of Ecology 90: 517-528, 2002. IF = 2.291
*E-mail: *pso@unicamp.br
P007-02 Alarm pheromone: a new function for the
scent gland secretion in harvestmen (Arachnida: Opiliones)
Machado G, Bonato V, Oliveira PS*
We investigated the possible alarm effect of the defensive volatile
secretions in the gregarious harvestman Goniosoma aff. proximum. Harvestmen
aggregations were experimentally exposed in the field to a cotton
swab soaked with the species’ gland exudate (treatment) or water
(control). Results show that the gland secretion works as an alarm
pheromone in Goniosoma such that 73.3% of the aggregations dispersed
after being stimulated with the gland exudate, whereas 3.3% responded
to the water control. Respondent groups are larger than non-respondent
ones, and the time of reaction to the secretion was inversely related
with group size. This is the first demonstration of a chemically-mediated
alarm effect in harvestmen. The alarm response in gregarious harvestmen
has possibly evolved as a by-product of a primarily defensive reaction
under the context of predator avoidance.
Naturwissenschaften 89: 357-360, 2002. IF = 1.624
*E-mail: *pso@unicamp.br
P008-02 A novel beta-globin variant : Hb Poços
de Caldas [beta 61(E5)Lys-.>Gln]
Kimura EM, Jorge SB, Ogo SH*, Cesquini M, Albuquerque DM, Fattori
A, Saad STO, Costa FF, Sonati MF
A novel hemoglobin (Hb) variant found during a screening program for
hemoglobinopathies in blood donors at the Hematology Center of the
State University of Campinas, Brazil is described. Corroborating the
clinical manifestation, this hemoglobin showed functional properties
similar to that of normal Hb.
Hemoglobin 26: 385-388, 2002. IF = 0.398
*E-mail: secrbioq@unicamp.br
P009-02 Optical anisotropy of a pig tendon under
compression
Feitosa VLC, Vidal BC*, Pimentel ER*
The distribution and organization of collagen bundles and proteoglycans
in two portions of the proximal region of the superficial digital
flexor tendon of pigs were studied under polarized light microscopy.
The strong metachromasy observed in sp portion, which is in direct
contact with the bone, demonstrated the presence of proteoglycan in
a compression-bearing region, after toluidine blue staining. A higher
molecular order of the collagen bundles as well as a more regular
pattern of crimp in areas under tension, like in the dp region, probably
attend a major requirement for tendon stretching. Linear dichroism
phenomena confirmed that the glycosaminoglycans were disposed parallel
to the long axis of the collagen bundles.
Journal of Anatomy 200: 105-111, 2002. IF = 1.397
*E-mail: vidal@unicamp.br, pimentel@unicamp.br
