The Carabine ground beetles are mostly hind wing-less and cannot fly, so that there is more chance of diversification by geographic isolation compared with winged insects. The relationships between morphological diversification and phylogeny of the ground beetles of the world have been inferred mainly by comparisons of mitochondrial ND5 gene sequences. Based on dating by a mitochondrial DNA "clock," it has been deduced that an explosive radiation of the major carabine groups took place 50-40 MYA. This was followed by occasional radiations on various scales, sometimes accompanied by parallel morphological changes. There are also a good number of examples showing that the fundamental morphology has remained unchanged for a long time among geographically isolated populations within the same species. Thus, carabid evolution would have proceeded discontinuously, with phases of rapid morphological change alternating with silent phases.

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Sympatric convergence of the color pattern in the Chilean Ceroglossus ground beetles inferred from sequence comparisons of the mitochondrial ND5 gene.

The phylogenetic trees have been constructed using the mitochondrial ND5 gene sequences for 66 specimens of the Chilean Ceroglossus ground beetles collected from various localities of Chile. The trees show that the Ceroglossus specimens examined are composed of four phylogenetic lineages that have diverged 25-30 MYA. The results are consistent with the classification proposed by Jiroux (1996) based on morphology, in which Ceroglossus is divided into four species groups. Despite a remarkable color polymorphism revealed by these ground beetles, the color pattern is geographically linked and is not species-specific, suggesting that some ecological or environmental factors are involved in determining it.

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PubMedDate not supplied

Translation in vitro of codon UGA as tryptophan in Mycoplasma capricolum.

The in-frame UGA codons in the synthetic messenger RNA were translated in the cell-free system of Mycoplasma capricolum. The result, together with the occurrence of codon UGA at tryptophan sites in the genes and the presence of tRNA(UCATrp) pairing with UGA, clearly indicated that UGA is a tryptophan codon in this bacterium.

Base Sequence↗

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Divergence and directional mutation pressures.

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Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The ribosomal genes of Mycoplasma capricolum.

The nucleotide sequence of 5S rRNA from Mycoplasma capricolum is more similar to that of the gram-positive bacteria than that of the gram-negative bacteria. The presence of two copies of rRNA genes in M. capricolum genome has been demonstrated. The two different rRNA gene clusters have been cloned in E. coli plasmid vectors and analyzed for the rRNA gene organizations, demonstrating that the gene arrangement is in the order of 16S, 23S, and 5S rDNA. The ribosomes of M. capricolum contain about 30 species of proteins in 50S and 20 in 30S subunits. The number and size of the ribosomal proteins are not significantly different from those of other eubacterial ribosomes.

Base Sequence↗

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Clinical study of platelet function and coagulation/fibrinolysis with Duraflo II heparin coated cardiopulmonary bypass equipment.

This clinical study was performed to evaluate the effects of Duraflo II heparin coated cardiopulmonary bypass equipment on platelet and coagulation/fibrinolysis activation. Twenty-four patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting were assigned to two groups using either heparin coated (Duraflo group, n = 13) or uncoated equipment (control group, n = 11). In the Duraflo group, the cardiotomy reservoir was also coated with heparin. Standard systemic heparinization was performed in both groups. There were no significant differences in activated clotting times or plasma free hemoglobin concentrations between the two groups. Platelet loss and platelet activation, as measured by increases in plasma beta-thromboglobulin (beta-TG) and platelet factor 4 (PF4), in the Duraflo group (beta-TG:237 +/- 143 ng/ml, PF4:167 +/- 104 ng/ml at the end of cardiopulmonary bypass) were less than those in the control group (beta-TG:373 +/- 131 ng/ml, PF4:295 +/- 131 ng/ml at the end of cardiopulmonary bypass). No significant differences were found in thrombin-antithrombin III complex levels or alpha 2 plasmin inhibitor-plasmin complex levels between the groups. Therefore, the use of Duraflo II heparin coated equipment with a heparin coated cardiotomy reservoir suppressed platelet activation.

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