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[Population dynamics study of Streptomyces olivocinereus in soil].

The dynamics of the population of the soil actinomycetes Streptomyces olivocinereus can be studied in its natural habitat using a conventional technique of inoculation at a level of the population density close to the natural one. The colonies are registered and counted in UV where they are clearly visible due to their bright orange luminescence. Techniques employed for obtaining information about the population structure (spores--mycellium) are described. The dynamics of the population has been studied within a year. The population introduced into soil is stabilized at a relatively high level.

Ecology↗

Canine population dynamics: a study of the Manhattan, Kansas, canine population.

Analysis of the age distribution in the pet population of dogs in the community of Manhattan, Kansas from 1968 to 1979 revealed that the distribution was stationary and the rate of population change (lambda1) was close to 1, which means, that if present conditions do not change, the population probably would remain stable in size in the future. The number of females spayed in the Manhattan population reached a frequency of 66% in 1979. Considering only present age-dependent birth and survival rates, the population could not maintain itself and would decrease rapidly in size. It was found, however, that the population is maintained by a high net rate of immigration, with about 75% of all dogs under 6 months old coming from outside the Manhattan population. The ratio of people to dogs in Manhattan was estimated to be 4.14:1; about 41% of all dogs under 6 months of age were acquired through breeders. Roaming animals in 1 year represented about 12% of the canine population in Manhattan; of those, 36% were stray (not claimed by owner) and the rest were owned and redeemed. The data represented only a portion of the population (dogs with responsible owners) and for a complete understanding of the dynamics of the entire population, one should analyze roaming dogs in a similar way. The methods described in this study should be useful for collecting data to be used by veterinarians and municipal authorities confronted with proposals for regulation dealing with reproduction and pet population.

Age Factors↗

Influenza virus population dynamics in the respiratory tract of experimentally infected mice.

Virus population dynamics in the lungs, trachea, and nasopharynx of Swiss-ICR mice were studied after respiratory challenge with mouse-adapted preparations of strain A2/Aichi/2/68 influenza virus. Markedly higher doses of virus were required to produce infection with nasopharyngeal challenge than with bronchoalveolar challenge. In all of the infections, the highest virus concentrations were observed in the lungs. Peak concentrations in the trachea were lower than in the lungs but higher than in the nasopharynx. Decreasing virus levels were observed by 120 h after challenge and were generally below detectable levels by the end of 10 days. A compartmental model of a single mathematical form was developed which provided close fits of the virus concentration measurements regardless of the challenge dose, site of initial deposition, or respiratory tissue considered. The model includes seven compartments with five associated rate parameters. The application of compartmental modeling techniques and expression of the virus population dynamics in mathematical terms is regarded as a new approach to the study of the pathogenesis of infections.

Administration, Intranasal↗

HIV and population dynamics: a general model and maximum-likelihood standards for east Africa.

In high-prevalence populations, the HIV epidemic undermines the validity of past empirical models and related demographic techniques. A parsimonious model of HIV and population dynamics is presented here and fit to 46,000 observations, gathered from 11 East African populations. The fitted model simulates HIV and population dynamics with standard demographic inputs and only two additional parameters for the onset and scale of the epidemic. The underestimation of the general prevalence of HIV in samples of pregnant women and the fertility impact of HIV are examples of the dynamic interactions that demographic models must reproduce and are shown here to increase over time even with constant prevalence levels. As a result, the impact of HIV on population growth appears to have been underestimated by current population projections that ignore this dynamic.

Adolescent↗

Population dynamics of Plasmodium sporogony.

Malaria transmission relies on the sporogonic development of Plasmodium parasites within insect vectors. Sporogony is a complex process that involves several morphologically distinct life-stages and can be described in terms of population dynamics: changes in the abundance and distribution of successive life-stages throughout development. Recent publications on the population dynamics of sporogony are reviewed, with special attention to the differences and similarities among the parasite-vector systems examined thus far. Understanding the population dynamics of malaria parasites within their natural vectors will lead to a better understanding of how malaria parasites survive and are maintained within mosquitoes.

Animals↗

Growth cones contain a dynamic population of neurofilament subunits.

Neurofilaments (NFs) are classically considered to transport in a primarily anterograde direction along axons, and to undergo bulk degradation within the synapse or growth cone (GC). We compared overall NF protein distribution with that of newly expressed NF subunits within NB2a/d1 cells by transfection with a construct encoding green fluorescent protein (GFP) conjugated NF-M subunits. GCs lacked phosphorylated NF epitopes, and steady-state levels of non-phosphosphorylated NF subunits within GC were markedly reduced compared to those of neurite shaft as indicated by conventional immunofluorescence. However, GCs contained significant levels of GFP-tagged subunits in the form of punctate or short filamentous structures that in some cases exceeded that visualized along the shaft itself, suggesting that GCs contained a relatively higher concentration of newly synthesized subunits. GFP-tagged NF subunits within GCs co-localized with non-phosphorylated NF immunoreactivity. GFP-tagged subunits were observed within GC filopodia in which steady-state levels of NF subunits were too low to be detected by conventional immunofluorescence. Selective localization of fluorescein versus rhodamine fluorescene was observed within GCs following expression of NF-M conjugated to DsRed1-E5, which shifts from fluorescein to rhodamine fluorescence within hours after expression; axonal shafts contained a more even distribution of fluorescein and rhodamine fluorescence, further indicating that GCs contained relatively higher levels of the most-recently expressed subunits. GFP-tagged structures were rapidly extracted from GCs under conditions that preserved axonal structures. These short filamentous and punctate structures underwent rapid bi-directional movement within GCs. Movement of GFP-tagged structures within GCs ceased following application of nocodazole, cytochalasin B, and the kinase inhibitor olomoucine, indicating that their motility was dependent upon microtubules and actin and, moreover, was due to active transport rather than simple diffusion. Treatment with the protease inhibitor calpeptin increased overall NF subunits, but increased those within the GC to a greater extent than those along the shaft, indicating that subunits in the GC undergo more rapid turnover than do those within the shaft. Some GCs contained coiled aggregates of GFP-tagged NFs that appeared to be contiguous with axonal NFs. NFs extended from these aggregates into the advancing GC as axonal neurites elongated. These data are consistent with the presence of a population of dynamic NF subunits within GCs that is apparently capable of participating in regional filament formation during axonal elongation, and support the notion that NF polymerization and transport need not necessarily occur in a uniform proximal-distal manner.

Actins↗

Stochastic epidemics in dynamic populations: quasi-stationarity and extinction.

Empirical evidence shows that childhood diseases persist in large communities whereas in smaller communities the epidemic goes extinct (and is later reintroduced by immigration). The present paper treats a stochastic model describing the spread of an infectious disease giving life-long immunity, in a community where individuals die and new individuals are born. The time to extinction of the disease starting in quasi-stationarity (conditional on non-extinction) is exponentially distributed. As the population size grows the epidemic process converges to a diffusion process. Properties of the limiting diffusion are used to obtain an approximate expression for tau, the mean-parameter in the exponential distribution of the time to extinction for the finite population. The expression is used to study how tau depends on the community size but also on certain properties of the disease/community: the basic reproduction number and the means and variances of the latency period, infectious period and life-length. Effects of introducing a vaccination program are also discussed as is the notion of the critical community size, defined as the size which distinguishes between the two qualitatively different behaviours.

Child↗

How much of the recent rise in breast cancer incidence can be explained by increases in mammography utilization? A dynamic population model approach.

Largely unexplained increases in breast cancer incidence of about 1% per year have been documented back to the 1940s. Since 1982, breast cancer incidence in women aged 40 years and above has been increasing at a faster rate than this long-term secular trend, especially in women aged 60 years and above. Increases in the use of mammography since 1982 (which have been documented in population surveys of women) provide the most plausible explanation for the incidence increase over the long-term secular trend. A study by White et al. (J Natl Cancer Inst 1990;82:1546-52) found that, for women aged 45-64 years, the increase in mammography utilization could explain the incidence increase, while for women aged 65-74 years, it could account for only half the increase. The authors have developed an alternative model to that of White et al. that incorporates estimates of differential lead time (time from screen detection to clinical detection in the absence of screening) by age group. Using this model, the authors show that if older women have longer lead times, than similar increases in mammography utilization across age groups will lead to a larger incidence increase in older women. Thus, the observed increases in mammography utilization are generally concordant with increases in incidence, even in the older age groups.

Adult↗

Insect sterility in population dynamics research.

This paper reviews and discusses a technique that can be used to study the dynamics of populations under the influence of favourable or unfavourable environmental factors or the stress of population control. It is encouraging for those interested in the sterility approach to pest control that the reproductive success of insects with a reputedly high biotic potential is limited to relatively low rates under field conditions. Further studies are needed under other conditions, in other areas, and with other species.

Animals↗

Population dynamics studies of wild-type and drug-resistant mutant HIV in mixed infections.

We have studied the population dynamics in response to selective drug pressure of mixtures of wild-type and mutant HIV viruses exposed to either an inhibitor of the viral protease or a nonnucleoside allosteric inhibitor of the viral reverse transcriptase. In order to quantitate mutant virus present in a mixed population, we developed a selective plaque assay, which appears to be generally applicable to population dynamics studies where the viruses in question differ in the sensitivity to a given drug by at least 10-fold. In this assay system, the titer of virus in a mixture is measured in the absence and presence of a concentration of a specific inhibitor known to suppress virus replication by 99%. Virus detected in the presence of inhibitor corresponds to mutant virus, whereas detection in the absence of drug results in quantitation of the total virion population. Wild-type virus is then estimated by difference. Utilizing this system we studied the fate of mixtures of wild-type and the protease-resistant mutant variant I84V in the presence and absence of the cyclic urea HIV protease inhibitor, DMP 450. We also examined the dynamics of mixtures of wild-type and the resistant mutant variant, L100I, in the presence and absence of the drug DMP 266. In both systems we demonstrated that in the absence of drug, mutant virus is at a selective disadvantage for growth compared to wild-type, whereas in the presence of a specific inhibitor, mutant virus exhibits the selective growth advantage over wild-type virus. Better understanding of HIV population dynamics may allow the development of superior inhibitors and the careful application of combination therapy in the clinical setting.

Alkynes↗

Typification of Oenococcus oeni strains by multiplex RAPD-PCR and study of population dynamics during malolactic fermentation.

AIMS: The goal of this study was to develop a reproducible method for molecular typing strains of Oenococcus oeni, and also to apply it in the study of population dynamics of these strains during malolactic fermentation of wine. METHODS AND RESULTS: A new method of multiplex randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD)-PCR has been developed, based on the combination of one random 10-mer and one specific 23-mer oligonucleotide in a single PCR. This method generates unique and discriminant DNA profiles for strains of O. oeni. The strains of this species were also clearly distinguished from other species of lactic acid bacteria. The method was applied to study the dynamics of O. oeni strains during malolactic fermentation, in three vintages in the same cellar. CONCLUSIONS: A fast and reliable method for typing strains of O. oeni has been designed and optimized. It improves the reproducibility and rapidity of conventional RAPD-PCR, and it has been validated monitoring the population dynamics during malolactic fermentation. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: This method will be a good tool to study the population dynamics of bacteria during malolactic fermentation and to evaluate the performance of new malolactic starter cultures and their dominance over the native microbiota.

Bacterial Typing Techniques↗

Ideal free distributions when resources undergo population dynamics.

This study examines the influence of optimal patch choice by consumers on resource population dynamics and on consumer distribution in a two patch environment. The evolutionarily stable strategy which describes animal distributions across habitat patches is called the ideal free distribution (IFD) strategy. Two mechanisms that lead to the IFD are: (1) direct consumer competition such as interference, and (2) exploitative competition for resources. This article focuses on the second mechanism by assuming that resources undergo population dynamics while consumer abundance is fixed. Two models of resource growth are considered in detail: the exponential and the logistic. The corresponding consumer IFD is derived for each of these two models, assuming that consumers behave adaptively by moving to the patch which provides them with the highest fitness. This derivation does not require that resources are at an equilibrium, and it provides, for each resource density, the corresponding distribution of consumers. The article suggests that adaptive patch choice by consumers decreases between patch heterogeneity in resource levels and weakens the apparent competition between resources. The results for a single consumer population are extended for two competing consumer populations. The corresponding IFD is computed as a function of the two consumer densities. This allows for the analytical description of isolegs which are the boundary lines, in the two consumer density phase space, separating regions where qualitatively different habitat preferences are predicted.

Animals↗

Population dynamics with and without selection.

A model describing population dynamics is presented. We study the effect of selection pressure and inbreeding on the time evolution of the population and the chances of survival. We find that the selection is in general beneficial, enabling survival of a population whose size is declining. Inbreeding reduces the survival chances since it leads to clustering of individuals. We have also found, in agreement with biological data, that there is a threshold value of the initial size of the population, as well as of the habitat, below which the population will almost certainly become extinct. We present analytical and computer simulation approaches.

Biological Evolution↗

Effects of Bacteriophages on the Population Dynamics of Four Strains of Pelagic Marine Bacteria.

Viral lysis of specific bacterial populations has been suggested to be an important factor for structuring marine bacterioplankton communities. In the present study, the influence of bacteriophages on the diversity and population dynamics of four marine bacterial phage-host systems was studied experimentally in continuous cultures and theoretically by a mathematical model. By use of whole genome DNA hybridization toward community DNA, we analyzed the dynamics of individual bacterial host populations in response to the addition of their specific phage in continuous cultures of mixed bacterial assemblages. In these experiments, viral lysis had only temporary effects on the dynamics and diversity of the individual bacterial host species. Following the initial lysis of sensitive host cells, growth of phage-resistant clones of the added bacteria resulted in a distribution of bacterial strains in the phage-enriched culture that was similar to that in the control culture without phages after about 50-60 h incubation. Consequently, after a time frame of 5-10 generations after lysis, it was the interspecies competition rather than viral lysis of specific bacterial strains that was the driving force in the regulation of bacterial species composition in these experiments. The clonal diversity, on the other hand, was strongly influenced by viral activity, since the clonal composition of the four species in the phage-enriched culture changed completely from phage-sensitive to phage-resistant clones. The model simulation predicted that viral lysis had a strong impact on the population dynamics, the species composition, and the clonal composition of the bacterial community over longer time scales (weeks). However, according to the model, the overall density of bacteria in the system was not affected by phages, since resistant clones complemented the fluctuations caused by viral lysis. Based on the model analysis, we therefore suggest that viral lysis can have a strong influence on the dynamics of bacterial populations in planktonic marine systems.

Journal Article↗

Protozoan grazing and its impact upon population dynamics in biofilm communities.

AIMS: To determine the impact of protozoan grazing on the population dynamics of a multispecies bacterial biofilm community. METHODS AND RESULTS: Grazing by Acanthamoeba castellanii and the ciliate Colpoda maupasi upon biofilm and planktonic communities, composed of Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas fluorescens and Staphylococcus epidermidis was investigated. Biofilms were formed using glass coverslips, held in a carousel device, as substrata for biofilm formation or in glass flow cells. The predatory effects of the amoeba were generally confined to the biofilm, where grazing rates corresponded to losses from the biofilm equivalent to ca 30,000 biofilm cells cm(-2) h(-1), with the amoeba becoming an integral part of the community. C. maupasi reduced the thickness of mature multispecies biofilms at steady-state from 500 to <200 microm. CONCLUSIONS: We report that the presence of the protozoa A. castellanii and C. maupasi markedly influence population dynamics within defined biofilm communities. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: The current study dispels the popular opinion that biofilms are protected against predation by protozoa. A. castellanii clearly has the capacity to graze mixed biofilm communities and to become integrally associated with them, whereas the ciliate C. maupasi reduced biofilm thickness by up to 60%.

Acanthamoeba↗

Population dynamics of pseudomonads after iodination.

The population dynamics of pseudomonads grown under rich or low nutrient conditions were examined following iodination. Iodinated and untreated controls of Pseudomonas aeruginosa or Pseudomonas cepacia were resuspended in phosphate buffer and incubated at room temperature. Viable populations of iodine-treated cultures increased faster in phosphate-buffered water than uniodinated controls. Thus, bacteria in iodinated water systems may recover or multiply during storage and distribution after disinfection and may pose a significant health risk.

Buffers↗

A model for the influence of the greenhouse effect on insect and microorganism geographical distribution and population dynamics.

A model for the influence of the greenhouse effect on insect and microorganism geographical distribution and population dynamics using cellular automata is presented. Based on this model, an algorithm has been developed and used to determine the geographical distribution and population dynamics of a hypothetical species in an scenario of global warming. The species' initial population distribution is assumed to be Gaussian. After the initiation of global warming, the population moves and after a few decades the population distribution is no longer Gaussian. Larger populations are found in the direction of population movement.

Algorithms↗