bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Chrysidid Wasps of the World
Authors: Kimsey Lynn S , Bohart Richard M
Published: November 2023

The growing field of conservation biology has placed a new value on cataloging the Earth's living creatures, even as many of them face extinction. In the first systematic revision of the Chrysidid wasp family since 1889, the authors present a worldwide overview of this colorful group. Some 3,000 valid species have been named and are arranged in 84 genera and four sub-families. This comprehensive treatment presents a reclassification of the generic and higher taxa. It also includes a summary of previously published information, indicated problems in need of further study, and detailed synonomic species lists for each genus. Discussions for each tribe and sub-family include ancestral characteristics, phylogenetically important characters and a corresponding cladogram, keys to genera, and relationships among taxa.
Materials and Methods
Authors: Kimsey Lynn S , Bohart Richard M
Published: November 2023

We have attempted to provide as much information on the Chrysididae as possible in this study. Due to space limitations we have used a variety of notations and abbreviations which require explanation. In addition, we feel that it is important to describe as fully as possible our approach to this study, as well as the facts which have led us to certain decisions. This will enable others to evaluate our conclusions for themselves. For each major taxonomic group we give a variety of information. Discussions for each tribe and subfamily include ancestral characteristics, phylogenetically important characters and a corresponding cladogram, keys to genera, and relationships among taxa. Generic discussions include generic synonymy and diagnostic features, relationships to other genera, and detailed species lists.
General Systematics
Authors: Kimsey Lynn S , Bohart Richard M
Published: November 2023

The superfamily Chrysidoidea consists of the families Scolebythidae, Plumariidae, Sclerogibbidae, Dryinidae, Bethylidae, Embolemidae, and Chrysididae. The majority of these families are highly specialized, and all are parasitoids. A variety of phylogenetic studies have been made of the Aculeata (Brothers 1975; Koenigsmann 1978; Rasnitsyn 1980) or Chrysidoidea specifically (Carpenter 1986). Based on these studies, and particularly that of Carpenter, the Chrysididae is the sister-group of Bethylidae. The other relationships among these families are discussed in detail by Carpenter (1986).
Current status of captive breeding programmes
Authors: Boer Leobert E M De
Published: November 2023

For the past 15 years zoos and related institutions have increasingly become involved in the captive breeding of endangered animal species. Prerequisites to the success of captive propagation as part of the conservation of biodiversity are optimal achievements at three levels: that of individuals, which should be guaranteed long lives of sufficient quality; that of pairs and groups, which should reproduce sufficiently to guarantee continuity over the generations; and that of populations, which should be kept genetically and demographically healthy. Achievement of these goals requires co-operative management of zoo populations of the species concerned and appropriate population management procedures. Such procedures will depend upon the development of a sound theoretical basis for understanding the genetics and demography of small (and fragmented) populations, of ‘tools’ to bring theory into practice, and of organizational structures to implement management proposals. At each of these three levels considerable progress has been made in recent years. Theoretical knowledge has advanced and continues to be refined. A whole array of ‘tools’ has been developed in the form of computer software for keeping records, compiling studbooks, performing genetic and demographic analyses etc. Such tools enable population managers to formulate master plans for population management. Within the community of zoos and related institutions organizational structures have been set up for co-operative propagation of endangered species, involving a system of regional breeding programmes. Currently 175 such programmes are being conducted in the various regions of the world. In the past five years IUCN/SSC’s Captive Breeding Specialist Group has become increasingly involved in these programmes as a coordinating body. This has led to three important developments.
Advances in artificial insemination and semen freezing in mammals
Authors: Holt W V
Published: November 2023

The breeding of endangered species is becoming increasingly co-ordinated within and between national boundaries as efforts to preserve genetic diversity are stepped up. Artificial insemination techniques have a valuable role in such management strategies, because they entail less stress to animals and lower transport costs, and because they offer the option of using genetic material after the death of donor animals.
Artificial insemination of scimitar¬ horned oryx at Orana Park with frozen semen from Metro Toronto Zoo
Authors: Garland Paul , Frazer Lindsay , Sanderson Neil , Mehren Kay , Kroetsch Tom
Published: November 2023

The objectives of this programme were to achieve positive pregnancies and the birth of living offspring in scimitar-horned oryx through the technique of non-surgical artificial insemination with frozen semen. Five female scimitar-horned oryx were prepared at Orana Park in March 1988 with intravaginal placements of 12% progesterone implants (CIDRs) and, 13 days later, with intramuscular injections of donoprost tromethamine (Lutalyse). Semen was collected from a male scimitar¬ horned oryx at the Metro Toronto Zoo by means of electro-ejaculation after this animal had been isolated and tested to a health status equivalent to that of any ruminant being shipped to New Zealand. The semen was diluted and extended, sealed into 0.5 ml straws and frozen into liquid nitrogen before being sent by air freight to New Zealand. Four females were artificially inseminated by a non-surgical procedure which entailed passing a pipette, designed for the artificial insemination of cattle, through the cervix, guided by rectal manipulation; 0.25 ml of prethawed semen was deposited in each uterine horn. Two of the females gave birth to live.
Detection of oestrous cycles and timing of ovulation
Authors: Hodges J K
Published: November 2023

A variety of techniques exist whereby ovarian function can be monitored, evaluated and, where appropriate, manipulated to facilitate management of fertility of endangered species. In recent years significant advances have been made in urinary hormone analysis and in real-time ultrasound imaging techniques. Advantages of the former include non-invasive sample collection and precision, although species differences in reproductive patterns and hormone metabolism necessitate careful validation of methods and interpretation of results. Recent advances in non-isotopic assays have simplified methodology whilst improving both accuracy and sensitivity. Urinary hormone analysis predominates but methods for faecal steroid determination are of increasing interest because sample collection is relatively easy, particularly in the wild. Real-time ultrasound enables direct visualization of ovaries and individual follicles and can be useful in allowing immediate diagnosis from a single observation. Since, however, restraint or sedation are often required, frequent observations may not be practical.
Ten years ago, ten years from now: summary remarks for the symposium
Authors: Soule Michael E
Published: November 2023

Let me say first that these remarks are not intended to reflect everything that was said at this symposium, nor even all the major points made by the speakers. In other words, they are not a proper summary. Instead, they resemble more the reactions of a hungry man at a roadside fruit stall. The bite at each grape, or peach, or strawberry triggers sensations and associations, and if he is the sort of man given to verbal expression, he may utter whatever springs into his consciousness.
Genomic imprinting
Authors: Jablonka Eva , Lamb Marion J
Published: November 2023

The inheritance systems described in the last chapter were concerned with the faithful transmission of epigenetic information either in somatic cell lineages, or from one generation of unicellular organisms to the next. It is usually taken for granted that in multicellular organisms, unless reproduction occurs vegetatively, such systems do not operate between generations. Normally, epigenetic information is erased during gametogenesis. Consequently, the only ways in which information can be transmitted from parents to offspring are through DNA base sequences, or through the cytoplasm of the egg, or, in higher animals, through learning. Yet in spite of the widespread assumption that these are the only mechanisms of information transfer between generations, it has been known for many years that epigenetic information is sometimes transmitted from parents to their offspring. In this chapter and the next we shall review the evidence for this, and consider some of the ways in which it may occur. Obviously, if EISs operate between parents and their offspring, they must have relevance to the problem of the inheritance of acquired characters.
Torpor and hibernation
Authors: Altringham John D
Published: November 2023

All animals have a daily cycle of activity, carrying out the tasks essential to their individual survival, and those required to pass on their genes to the next generation. All of these tasks consume energy, which comes from metabolising the food they eat. Life is a continuous attempt to balance the input:output equation: energy in-food, must equal energy out--the physiological and behavioural costs of life. To be successful, that is to survive and pass on its genes, an animal must operate efficiently, and evolution drives the animal towards optimal solutions for all its tasks. If one animal feeds more efficiently than another, it can spend more time looking for a mate or a safe roost, and might therefore have a competitive edge in the tight for survival. Optimal solutions may never be achieved in a changing world, but this drive towards optimality is strong, and the solutions we see today are often marvellously close to the optimal. So, life is governed by the energy balance equation-what does it mean to bats? Bats are most active between dawn and dusk, and spend much of the day asleep, or indulging in various social activities. On average, each night a bat much catch enough food to provide the energy needed to get it through to the next night. The greatest energy demand on a bat is collecting this food in the first place.
Reproduction, development and life histories
Authors: Hopkin Stephen p.
Published: November 2023

Natural selection favours early breeding, high fecundity and low mortality rates, other things being equal. If other things are not equal, trade-offs exist between these life history variables. Collembola exhibit a wide range of development times, fecundities and life spans which do not appear to have a taxonomic basis. The life history characteristics of each species of springtail have evolved in response to selective pressures in the environment which have maximised their fitness for the particular ecological niche in which they reside.
Ecotoxicology
Authors: Hopkin Stephen p.
Published: November 2023

Ecotoxicology is concerned with defining the potential or adverse effects of chemical agents (derived either directly or indirectly from human activity in industry and agriculture) on natural ecosystems (for recent reviews see Calow 1989, 1993, 1994; Hopkin 1993b; forgensen et al. 1991; Kula 1992; Walker et al. 1996). In the context of this book, ecotoxicology is the study of the effects of such chemical agents on Collembola. A comprehensive list of references to laboratory and field studies of the effects of chemicals on Collembola is given in Appendix C.
Selection and breeding
Authors: Eldridge Ken , Davidson John , Harwood Chris , Wyk Gerrit Van
Published: November 2023

Most of the eucalypt plantations of the world are managed as short rotation coppice crops (5 to 15 years) to provide large quantities of roundwood at a low cost. Wood from young eucalypt plantations is used for firewood, charcoal, poles and posts, mine timbers, pulpwood for paper industries, and for reconstituted wood. Only a very small proportion of the world’s eucalypt plantations are allowed to grow to the greater age and large diameter required for sawn timber. As a broad generalization, the principal selection criteria for plantation eucalypts are health, growth rate, stem straightness, and wood density, in that order of priority. Selection for straighter stems provides better poles and some advantage in stacking and handling logs for firewood or pulpwood. Increased dry wood per unit area is a common goal, by seeking increased wood density as well as increased volume.
Models on metabolism of aquatic weeds and their application potential
Authors: Best E P H
Published: November 2023

Models of plant growth are mathematical representations of the physiological processes associated with plant metabolism. It is important that the parameters of the model and the relationships which the model expresses (a) correspond with the biological system which is investigated; (b) agree with the generally accepted scientific theories, the equation coefficients depending on plant group and possibly species; (c) avoid as much as possible empirical equations which often lead to curve fitting. However, when a process is not understood, and theories are lacking, the use of empirical equations is the only possibility to fit the process into the model. Regrettably this decreases the predictive power of the model. Most models contain descriptive and predictive elements. Descriptive usually refers to equations describing an existing system, while predictive refers to equations which can be extrapolated outside the existing boundaries.
Practical uses of aquatic weeds
Authors: Joyce J C
Published: November 2023

In preparation for this chapter, the Center for Aquatic Plants’ computerized aquatic plant information retrieval system was queried in order to obtain a listing of articles on the utilization of aquatic plants on a world-wide basis. This literature search yielded 215 review citations and over 1 764 (1300 of which were written since 1975) individual citations covering reported uses of aquatic plants, which ranged from human food to wastewater treatment and the production of biogas. Attempts to review this wealth of literature and subjectively dete mine those uses which are ‘practical’ is difficult for two fundamental reasons; (a) the amount of material is exhaustive, and (b) the definition of ‘practical uses’ is subjective and open to potential bias as discussed below.
Aquatic weed problems and management in Asia
Authors: Gopal B
Published: November 2023

The Asian landmass, the largest continent on earth, is unique in many respects. It is the most populated part of the world with more than half of humanity living there. It extends from the Equator to the Arctic: all climatic zones are represented. The continent exhibits a great diversity of landscapes: high mountains, vast alluvial plains, dense tropical and temperate forests, hot and cold deserts; innumerable ephemeral streams and seasonal ponds, mighty rivers, lakes, and reservoirs are all represented (Fig. 16.1).
Aquatic weed problems and management in Australasia
Authors: Mitchell D S , Bowmer K H
Published: November 2023

Australia, New Zealand, and Papua New Guinea, which together comprise Australasia, are remarkable for their degree of phytogeographic isolation from the rest of the world. They are, therefore, particularly at risk from invasions of plants and animals, which reproduce rapidly in the absence of their natural enemies. Thus, the growth of alien aquatic plants is a major cause of aquatic weed problems in the region. Other aquatic weed problems are caused by human impact on natural hydrogeological cycles, leading to permanence of otherwise intermittent water bodies and nutrient enrichment of aquatic ecosystems.
Origins and History of Australian Rainforests
Authors: Adam Paul
Published: November 2023

Imagine Australia as a clear pool of water into which two muddy streams enter-a black stream from the north-a white stream from the south. The former represents the Malayan element, the latter the Antarctic element-most evident in Tasmania, and the higher mountain ranges of Australia-both elements due to land com1ection in the prehistoric past.
Mangroves
Authors: Adam Paul
Published: November 2023

Mangroves are a major feature on many parts of the Australian coast. Although mangrove is one of the few technical terms of vegetation description which is widely recognized by the general public, it is difficult to formulate a simple universally applicable definition. Mangrove has, in fact, two separate meanings; as a description of a plant community, and as a category of species which occur in mangrove communities-thus A vicennia marina is a mangrove and the communities that it dominates are also referred to as mangroves. Several authors have proposed to differentiate between these two meanings by adopting the term ‘mangal’ to refer to the community (e.g. Macnae 1968; Chapman 1976), but this usage has not achieved any popularity and mangrove continues to be applied in both senses; in most cases the context serves to indicate which meaning is appropriate, and confusion is rare. Mangroves (in the community sense) can be defined by three criteria; habitat, structure, and floristics. In most cases the criteria co-vary, but there are many instances of stands which are conventionally regarded as mangroves, but which fail to satisfy the definition on at least one criterion.
Transformation, carcinogenesis, and progression
Authors: Woodruff Michael
Published: November 2023

The neoplastic cells in a tumour have all arisen from one or more cells that have undergone a heritable process termed neoplastic transformation or, simply, transfonnation. When transformed cells are grown in tissue culture they differ from normal cells in respect of various morphological and cell surface features, and proliferative potential. Unlike normal cells, which stop proliferating in monolayers when they become overcrowded and can be maintained in culture for only a limited number of cell generations, transformed. cells are insensitive to overcrowding, as shown by their loss of contact and density-dependent inhibition of cell division, and may be maintained indefinitely in culture-a property termed immortalization.
Clonal composition of tumours
Authors: Woodruff Michael
Published: November 2023

The members of a clone are, by definition, all descendants of one cell. We can choose any cell we like as the founder of a clone (Micklem 1986), but need to state explicitly what category of cell we have chosen. What is usually implied, though rarely stated explicitly, in discussing the clonal composition of tumours, is that the founder cell of a neoplastic clone is an initially nonnal cell that talces one or more steps on the road to transfomiation before it divides, and some of whose descendants become fully transfonned. This corresponds to clonality as determined with X-linked markers (Section 3.2.1, pp. 29-31), and would be the only possibility worth considering if carcinogenesis were a one-step process. In so far as carcinogenesis is multistep, however, we could start instead with a fully transfonned cell, or, if a stable marker appears for the first time during the course of transformation, with a partly transfonned cell.
Dynamic heterogeneity of tumour celi populations
Authors: Woodruff Michael
Published: November 2023

The evolution of any population, whether of animals, plants or cells, depends on two essential elements: 1. Mechanisms for generating diversity among the members of the population. 2. Selection. Ecologists have long been concerned with how animals and plants interact with their environment, and with each other; indeed, this is their raison d’ être. Only comparatively recently, however, have tumour biologists become interested in studying tumour cell populations from an ecological point of view. In this chapter we shall consider firstly how phenotypic differences between individual neoplastic cells in a tumour may arise, and secondly how the cellular composition of a tumour may be affected by the reaction of the host, and by interactions between subpopulations of tumour cells.
Ecological classifications of bryophytes and lichens
Authors: During Heinjo J
Published: November 2023

Attempts to classify plants using common characters or responses to the environment are as old as botany (cf. Barkman 1988). Apart from taxonomical classifications, plants have been grouped into chorological types, sociological and ecological species groups, growth-forms, life-forms, and life-history strategies. Such classifications are useful for making comparisons of the ecology of species and communities in different geographical regions (Smith 1982).
Invasions and range expansions and contractions of bryophytes
Authors: Soderstrom Lars
Published: November 2023

Changes in bryoflora have occurred all over the world, but the documentation varies between regions. The changes are often induced by mankind, and many species, e.g. Bryum argenteum and Tortu/a muralis, have proliferated in man-made environments. Most parts of the world have received additions of species from other regions, e.g. the boreal hepatics Diplo phyllum obtusatum, Jungermannia sphaerocarpa, and Lophozia incisa in the tropics (Gradstein and V á na 1987) and the European Scleropodium purum and Thuidium tamariscinum in North America (Schofield 1988). Changes in the native flora involve, besides increases or decreases of abundance, both range expansions and range contractions. In this chapter, I give examples of changes in distribution ranges, mainly from Europe, and discuss the underlying mechanisms.
Ants and plants: a diversity of interactions
Authors: Huxley Camilla R
Published: November 2023

Interactions between ants and plants are extraordinarily diverse. Ants may act on plants as herbivores, defensive agents, seed dispersers, pollinators, or providers of macronutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium). Conversely, plants may supply a range of nutrients, or nest sites, or attract ants with chemicals which are secondary to the main metabolic processes. Many plants also exclude ants as pollinators, and certain carnivorous plants specialize in trapping ants. Among this wide range of interactions, the extent of benefit or loss to each participant depends critically on the local conditions, in particular the biotic environment. The defensive effect of ants, for instance, depends directly on the susceptibility of the pests of a plant to attack by ants. On the other hand ants often promote certain herbivores such as sap-sucking Homoptera and lycaenoid butterfly larvae.
Resource quality and cost in the foraging of leaf-cutter ants
Authors: Howard Jerome J
Published: November 2023

Leaf-cutter ant colonies may contain over a million workers and a thousand fungus gardens (Weber 1972), and to support these large colonies the ants continually search out and harvest suitable plants. However, ant colonies face limits to their ability to locate and harvest resources efficiently. At any given time most foraging workers are engaged in harvesting known resources, with only a small fraction searching for new resources (Johnson et al. 1987). Ants may attack plants over 100 m from the colony, and a single foraging trip may require several hours (Lewis et al. 1974; Hubbell et al. 1980). The time and energy required to locate and harvest rare or distant plants of high quality may, at times, make it more efficient for ants to harvest more readily available resources of lower quality.
Effects Of Ant-Homopteran Systems On Fig-Figwasp Interactions
Authors: Compton S G , Robertson H G
Published: November 2023

The pest status of many homopterans is often attributable to the ants that tend the bugs for honeydew and protect them from natural enemies (Buckley, 1987 a). If the ants tending the homopterans incidentally protect other herbivores, then the negative impact of the ants will be compounded (Fritz 1983). In South Africa, for example, red scale (Aonidiella aurantii Mask.) can devastate citrus orchards if ants are allowed to interrupt the biological control by parasitoids. The ants arc attracted by honeydew produced by soft scales, not by A. aurantii (Samways et al. 1982).
The Ant Community Associated With Extrafloral Nectaries In The Brazilian Cerrados
Authors: Oliveira Paulo S , Brandao Carlos R F
Published: November 2023

Schemske (1983) stressed that plants providing ‘limited’ resources for ants, such as extrafloral nectar, generally have a higher diversity of ant associates than those providing ‘major’ resources, such as nest sites and diverse foods. Since extrafloral nectar comprises only a part of the nutritional requirements of an ant colony, ant-guard systems mediated solely by the supply of nectar are usually very generalized (Schemske 1983; Beattie 1985).
Extrafloral Nectaries Of Herbs And Trees: Modelling The Interaction With Ants And Parasitoids
Authors: Koptur Suzanne
Published: November 2023

Plant tissue lost to consumers is a physiological cost to a plant. Over evolutionary time, a variety of plant defences have evolved which enable plants to avoid or better survive herbivory. Plants are rooted, and cannot flee, so their defences operate at the site of attack. Much research has been done on the mechanical and chemical defences of plants, but biotic defences have received less attention, perhaps because they require greater field study. Biotic defences of plants are dynamic, and there are compelling reasons to study them. Most plant species have multiple defences, since no single line of defence works against all herbivores. By gaining a better understanding of how plants benefit from mutualisms with biotic protective agents we gain insight into complex interactions that shape community structure.
Ground Beetles And Seed Dispersal Of The Myrmecochorous Plant Trillium Tschonoskii (Trilliacae)
Authors: Higashi Seigo , Ito Fuminori
Published: November 2023

Trillium species are myrmecochorous, perennial herbs occuring principally in woodlands of North America and eastern Asia, including Japan. The fruits of this genus contain several scores of seeds which are transported by such ants as Formica, Lasius, Myrmica, Aphaenogaster, and Camponotus, which are attracted to their juicy elaiosomes (Gates 1940, 1941; Berg 1958; Beattie and Culver 1981; Mesler and Lu 1983; Nesom and La Duke 1985). The present study involves Trillium tschonoskii Maxim., which grows in the cool temperate broad-leaved deciduous woodland of Hokkaido, northern Japan. This species is in full bloom in May, and in late July produces fruits containing about 80 seeds each. Each seed bears a juicy elaiosome about twice the size of the seed.
Brood Reduction In Gymnosperms
Authors: Haig David
Published: November 2023

Cannibalism in animals is often associated with the killing of an offspring by a parent or of one sibling by another. Similar phenomena occur in plants. Mothers abort seeds and ovules, and sibling embryos compete in a life-or-death struggle within seeds. For convenience, I refer to both processes as brood reduction. This chapter addresses the mechanisms and functions of brood reduction in gymnosperms, with a brief comparison to analogous processes in angiosperms. I emphasize gymnosperms because seed and ovule abortion in angiosperms have been extensively reviewed elsewhere (Stephenson 1981; Lee 1988). There is no conclusive evidence that gymnosperms utilize aborted ovules and defeated embryos as food, though this would clearly be adaptive in terms of the efficient use of resources. I discuss brood reduction in gymnosperms because these processes possibly have similar evolutionary causes to filicide and siblicide (associated with cannibalism) in animals.
Ropalidia fasciata in Okinawa, Japan: a species with flexible social relations
Authors: Itö Yosiaki
Published: November 2023

Ropalidia fasciata is a wasp that is common in South-East Asia, the islands of Okinawa, Japan, being the northern limit of its distribution range (Plates 1–4 ). In Okinawa, this species lives in grasslands, where tussocks of a large perennial grass, Miscanthus chinensis, grow scattered over short grass and herbs, and in sugar cane fields. The nests are hung from the leaves of M. chinensis or sugar cane, except in rare cases, when they are hung from the shoots of trees. I studied the social behaviour and social structure of this species in Okinawa-Hont6 (the main island of Okinawa) for a period of five years. A total of 374 nests, 646 foundresses, and 188 progeny females were marked.
Social relations in wasp colonies in the wet tropics: polistine wasps in Panama
Authors: Itö Yosiaki
Published: November 2023

In research in biochemistry or experimental biophysics, different researchers can obtain almost identical results by using similar apparatus for automatic chemical analysis or measurement of physical properties. Most descriptions of animal behaviour, however, are strongly influenced by the viewpoint and experience of the reasearcher (although there have been many attempts to standardize behavioural descriptions). Thus a social relation which I consider to be ‘mild’ may be described by another researcher as ‘aggressive’.In order to study the social relations of various tropical polistine wasps, I spent two months in 1982 conducting observations at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute on Barro Colorado Island, Panama (Plate 5). On and near Barro Colorado Island, I observed two species of Polistes—P. canadensis and P. versicolor—and two species of Mischocyttarus—M. angulatus and M. basimacula. I located nests of these four species and marked all the individuals on some nests. In other nests, only some of the individuals were marked. However, in both cases I could record precisely the frequency of dominance-aggressive acts among nest-mates.
Role of multiple comb construction and the perennial nature of nests: polistine wasps in Australia
Authors: Itö Yosiaki
Published: November 2023

In 1984, I had the opportunity to observe the social behaviour of polistine wasps in tropical and subtropical Australia. The Australian Polistinae consist of 12 species of the genus Polistes and 22 species of the genus Ropalidia (Richards 1978b), but there are only two species for which the social behaviour has been reported—P. humilis (Cumber 1951) and R. revolutionalis (Hook and Evans 1982).R. revolutionalis is a common paper wasp from the east coast of Queensland, Australia. Hook and Evans (1982) observed this species in Brisbane, near the southern limit of its distribution range, and reported that its colony cycle begins with the foundation of a single comb but, as the colony cycle progresses, each colony builds additional combs near the original one (see Plate 10).
Manipulation of progeny by mother groups: an hypothesis for the evolution of multi-queen societies
Authors: Itö Yosiaki
Published: November 2023

I stated in Chapters 9 and 10 that multi-queen societies may exist in most of the swarm-founding neotropical Polistinae (Polybia and closely-related genera), in at least some (possibly all) of the swarm-founding species of the subgenus lcarielia of the genus Ropalidia, and in some tropical Vespinae. Although their origins may in many cases be different from that of the Vespidae, the ants also have multi-queen societies, and they have at least one species in which all the females reproduce (Pristomyrmex pungens, Tsuji 1990). There is no hypothesis so far to explain the evolution or maintenance of such societies, in which dozens of reproductive queens, which are morphologically distinguishable from workers, coexist (although Rosengren and Pamilo 1983 discussed the environmental conditions necessary for the development of multi-queen, polydomous societies in Formica).
Common marmoset
Authors: Kirkwood James K , Stathatos Katherine
Published: November 2023

The common marmoset occurs in the eastern and coastal forests of Equatorial Brazil. It has also been introduced into forests as far south as Rio de Janeiro. It is not threatened at present (Mittermeier et al. 1986, IUCN 1990).
Protein motions: structural and functional aspects
Authors: Sneddon Scott F , Brooks III Charles L
Published: November 2023

5.1 Overview of protein motion

The ability of proteins to operate as catalysts clearly depends on subtle details of their structure. The overall shape and disposition of functional groups within an active site is what gives proteins some of their special properties: high substrate specificity, transition state stabilization, and the ability to transmit information to other units in a protein complex (allostery), to name but a few. As experimental and theoretical investigations have uncovered information about the structural component of protein function, so too have they shown that proteins exhibit a rich variety of motions (Gurd and Rothgeb 1979; Huber and Bennet 1983; Frauenfelder and Gratton 1986). If one considers just a few of the tasks proteins must per­ form in a living organism, it becomes apparent that motion, as well as structure, is an essential component of protein function. Receptor proteins lie partially buried in the cell membrane, and, on binding their target molecule, transmit this information into the cell by changing conformation, allowing the cell to respond to the external stimulus. Transport proteins (the oxygen transport protein haemoglobin, for example) bind ligands within their interior, releasing the ligand when conditions within the cell demand. The allosteric effects in haemoglobin involve motion of the subunits, while the entry and exit of the ligand requires an environmentally induced local con­ formational change (see Section 5.3.3). Many proteins are synthesized in a part of the cell distant from where they will perform their function. Transport of the protein from its point of manufacture to its point of use may require crossing membranes inside the cell. The folded protein is often too large to cross the membrane, and so must first unfold, traverse the mem­ brane as a linear sequence, and refold on the other side (see Section 5.2.4). Catalytic proteins (enzymes) must often provide a very specific, non­ aqueous environment for catalysis. Several known proteins completely engulf their substrate, perform the chemical reaction within the enclosed active site, then open to release the products.
Electron transporters
Authors: Mathews F Scott
Published: November 2023

7.1 Introduction

Electron transporters can be defined for our present purposes as low molecular weight (8–15 kDa) protein molecules that contain a redox active cofactor and have no catalytic function other than as an electron sink. There are four types of cofactors utilized by this protein class: haem, iron-sulphur centres, flavin mononucleotide (FMN), and copper. The cofactor, when bound to the protein, can normally exist in only two stable oxidation states. The protein environment can mediate the midpoint oxidation/reduction (redox) potential and establish the equilibrium level of the two states. In some cases (e.g. FMN or [4Fe-4S]) the cofactor is capable of existing in more than two redox states and the protein surroundings will regulate which pair of redox potentials are available under physiological conditions for the electron transfer process.

The primary function of the electron transporters is to transfer a single electron from one protein or protein complex to another. The electron donor protein is often a soluble protein while the acceptor is usually membrane bound. The acceptor or donor is also usually an enzyme catalysing an oxidation or reduction reaction, but another electron transporter can often serve as acceptor or donor.
Allosteric enzymes
Authors: Stevens Raymond C , Lipscomb William N
Published: November 2023

8.1 Allostery

8.1.1 Basic tenets of allosteric behaviour

The term allosteric (Greek, alios = other, steros = solid or space) is an ill-defined term used to describe the behaviour of numerous proteins. Webster’s dictionary defines allosteric as ‘of or having to do with a protein or structure that is altered reversibly by a small molecule so that its original function is modified’. Biochemistry textbooks define allostery as the behaviour of those proteins which do not kinetically conform to the ‘classical’ Michaelis-Menten model.
The genetic code-history
Authors: Osawa Syozo
Published: November 2023

The history of the research that led to the deciphering of the universal genetic code is interesting in view of how this most fundamental problem was solved, and how scientists were excited by this, one of the monumental achievements of this century. I must confess that I am not in an ideal position to review this history, as I played only a small part in it, and was certainly not a member of the ‘RNA Tie Club’ (Crick, 1968). Therefore, the next section-’The day before yesterday’-is written largely from a series of review articles by Francis Crick (1958, 1963, 1968), who has been playing the leadership-role in the coding problem, on our review article (Osawa et al., 1992), and on a comprehensive review by Jukes (1977b).
Anticodon composition
Authors: Osawa Syozo
Published: November 2023

The number of anticodons is always less than the total number of amino acid codons (of which there are 61), although the precise number varies; the smallest is 22 (in vertebrate mitochondria) and the largest possible is 46, although no organism has this many. The recognition pattern of a synonymous codon set by tRNA shows considerable variation between organisms. The anticodon composition lists for various organisms and organelles are given in Tables 3.1 to 3.5. The variations seen result sometimes from codon usage and sometimes from the tendency to reduce the genome size (genomic economization). In some cases, certain codons and the corresponding tRNAs disappear from the genome (see Sections 5.1 and 5.2).
Codon usage
Authors: Osawa Syozo
Published: November 2023

It should be safe to assume that two synonymous codons in a 2-codon set, or four in a family box, are used evenly. However, there are almost no such examples. Synonymous codon usage is not ‘symmetrical’. It is more or less, and sometimes extremely, uneven in any gene in a single species. Several factors affect codon usage, one of which is the genomic G + C content of the organism, another is the amount and composition of isoacceptor tRNAs that translate the codons.
The evolving genetic code
Authors: Osawa Syozo
Published: November 2023

The ‘universal’ genetic code was established experimentally in around 1966, mainly by the use of E. coli systems. This code was thought to be common to all organisms and viruses, because it was the same in some very different organisms (e.g. yeast, vertebrates, and tobacco mosaic virus). Such apparent universality of the code led Crick to propose the frozen-accident theory. Crick (1968) states that: ‘This accounts for the fact that the code does not change. To account for it being the same in all organisms one must assume that all life evolved from a single organism (more strictly, from a single closely interbreeding population)’. The theory further states that the proteins had become so sophisticated in a single pool of progenote cells that any changes in codon meaning would disrupt proteins by making unacceptable amino acid substitutions throughout their sequences, so that evolution of the code stopped, i.e. the code was frozen. ‘In its extreme form, the theory implies that the allocation of codon to amino acids at this point was entirely a matter of chance’ (Crick, 1968).
Origin and early evolution of the genetic code
Authors: Osawa Syozo
Published: November 2023

In general, it may be best to keep theories of evolution of the code as close as possible to existing experimental findings and flexible enough to accommodate future discoveries. It is unlikely that some mathematical solution will be found to explain, in a single tour de force, the nature of the code, although efforts to achieve this are numerous.
Elements of the Structure of Ribulose-P2 Carboxylase/Oxygenase Affecting Substrate Partitioning
Authors: Gutteridge Steven
Published: November 2023

A combination of mutagenesis and crystallographic analysis is being used to unravel the processes leading to fixation of atmospheric CO2 by photosynthetic organisms. The first steps in this complicated chemistry are due to one protein entity, ribulose-P2 carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco) that mediates at least five distinct chemical reactions commencing with binding of ribulose-P2 to 3P-glyc erate release (for recent reviews see Hartman 1992; Gutteridge 1990; Andrews and Lorimer 1987). An analysis of the fate of the atoms of substrate molecules as they proceed to product indicates that the intermediates generated during catalysis will have C centres with quite different geometries. Since all the reactions occur at a common site, then the enzyme must be flexible enough to retain each of the intermediates until the first stable product, 3P-glycerate is generated. For example, Fig. 3.1 shows the partial reactions leading to P-glycerate forma tion and the stereochemistry of the intermediates. Planar configurations of C2 and C3 centres of the bisphosphate alternate with tetrahedral conformers as the reaction proceeds to completion.
Tests and Models of Mechanisms for Biotin Dependent Carbon Dioxide Fixation
Authors: Kluger Ronald , Tsao Belinda
Published: November 2023

Carbon dioxide is the primary by-product of biological oxidative metabolism. This product is part of the biosphere and is dealt with by living systems in a number of ways, all of which provide useful materials for the organisms involved. Plants provide a general bank for carbon dioxide acquisition and a reductive photosynthetic apparatus to convert carbon dioxide into carbohydrates with oxygen as a by-product. There also exist nonreductive biological processes in which carbon dioxide is formally extracted from bicarbonate, at the expense of ATP hydrolysis, and transferred to a substrate where it replaces a proton. Since carbon dioxide is easily transferred between species in the air or in aqueous solution (as bicarbonate), there is ample opportunity for carbon dioxide which is given off by one species to be utilized by another. Enzymes which pro mote this class of reaction require special chemical assistance. This assistance is provided by the coenzyme biotin and the mechanism by which this assistance is administered is a fascinating problem in enzyrnic reaction mechanisms. While many of the characteristics of enzyrnic reactions involving biotin are under stood, the detailed pathway of the reaction is inferred rather than established and a number of ambiguities remain to be resolved. This chapter will review the status of some research on the mechanism by which carbon dioxide from dis solved bicarbonate is transferred to biotin.
Stoichiometric and Catalytic Activation of Carbon Dioxide on Transition-Metal Complexes
Authors: Behr Arno
Published: November 2023

A very promising approach to the activation of carbon dioxide is offered by its coordination to transition-metal complexes. In this chapter a brief insight is given into both stoichiometric and catalytic activation of CO2. Both parts are linked together very closely, because catalytic reactions can only occur if stoichiometric activation steps first start the reaction.
Organometallic Chemistry of Carbon Dioxide Pertinent to Catalysis
Authors: Darensbourg Donald J
Published: November 2023

Transition-metal mediated transformations of carbon dioxide have attracted increased attention from the organometallic chemist. The search for alternate uses of carbon dioxide is motivated by two principal concerns: the increase in carbon dioxide concentration levels over the past four centuries and the depletion of fossil fuels. Indeed the two problems represent both the cause and effect, where the increased burning of fossil fuels has been implicated as one of the primary causes of the rise of CO2 concentration levels (Idso 1988; Abrahamson 1989). The controversy over global climate changes are subsiding, with the consensus of opinion being that increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere will sooner or later lead to global warming (∼0.3 °C per decade). Of the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide contributes most to global warming, i.e. approximately 55 per cent. An issue which is now open to debate is how to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases in an economically feasible manner. Some of the easier measures to take would be to control CO2 emissions in manufacturing and electricity generation processes, and to recover part or all of the cost of doing this with production of value added chemicals.
Hydrogenation of Carbon Dioxide by Catalysts
Authors: Souma Yoshie , Fujiwara Masahiro
Published: November 2023

Huge amounts of CO2 have been emitted by the consumption of fossil fuel, accompanied by the development of industry. The total amounts of emitted CO2 from fossil fuels are assumed to be 19 x 109 ton year-’, of which 60 per cent are emitted from thermal power stations or factories. Although CO2 should be recovered and fixed in order to prevent global warming, at the same time, CO2 is an important carbon source to be reused as a chemical or fuel. Various methods are known for the fixation of CO2. However, a rapid conversion rate of CO2, which is comparable to the combustion rate of fossil fuel, is indispensable. From this viewpoint the hydrogenation of CO2 is expected to be the best method to fix huge amounts of CO2. Carbon dioxide is emitted in comparatively high concentrations from power stations, factories, and ironworks and is therefore suitable for recovery and recycling use. The concept of recycling technology for CO2 by hydrogenation is shown in Fig. 11.1. Although many reports of CO hydrogenation have been published for the synthesis of an alternative fuel after the oil crisis of the last decade (Fujimoto et al. 1988; Inui et al.1985; Liu et al. 1984), the study of CO2 hydrogenation is by no means sufficient. The research on CO2 hydrogenation is expected to be developed rapidly by referring to the results of CO hydrogenation.
Electrochemical Syntheses Involving Carbon Dioxide
Authors: Silvestri Giuseppe , Gambino Salvatore , Filardo Giuseppe
Published: November 2023

The early speculations on the possibility of carbon dioxide being the starting material for chemical synthesis of organic compounds are due to one of the founders of modem organic chemistry, Justus Liebig. In 1847 he suggested that in the future a laboratory mimesis of the natural pathway to complex molecules such as carboxylic acids, alcohols or sugars would be possible. In 1861 two other illustrious German chemists, Kolbe and Schmitt, described the occurrence of formates by addition of carbon dioxide and water vapour to metallic sodium or potassium, thus confirming the hypothesis Liebig had proposed ‘mit prophetischem Geiste’. Following an analogous procedure, but in anhydrous conditions, Drechsel (1868) reduced carbon dioxide to oxalates. The electro chemical approach was an obvious extension of those findings: soon afterwards Beketov (1869) and Royer (1870) reported the formation of formic acid by cathodic reduction of aqueous alkaline solutions of carbon dioxide. Further investigations involved both the chemical reduction with metals of the I and II groups, free or amalgamated (Lieben 1895) and electrochemical reduction in aqueous media (Cohen and Jahn 1904; Ehrenfeld 1905; Fischer and Prziza 1914).