A NOVEL PATTERN OF EMBRYONIC NUTRITION IN A VIVIPAROUS REPTILE

1993 ◽  
Vol 174 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. R. Stewart ◽  
M. B. Thompson
Keyword(s):  
Organic Molecules ◽  
Species Differences ◽  
Placental Transfer ◽  
Dry Mass ◽  
Inorganic Salts ◽  
Egg Mass ◽  
Female Size ◽  
Embryonic Growth ◽  
Bassiana Duperreyi ◽  
Embryonic Nutrition

Vitellogenesis and placental transfer both contribute substantially to embryonic nutrition in the viviparous scincid lizard Pseudemoia entrecasteauxii. Neonatal wet mass was 396 % greater than egg wet mass and neonatal dry mass was 168 % greater than egg dry mass. We estimate that 49 % of the organic molecules for embryonic growth and metabolism were provided by placental nourishment. This pattern of embryonic nutrition, in which ovarian and uterine contributions are approximately equivalent, has not been reported previously for reptiles. Female Bassiana duperreyi, a closely related oviparous species, produced larger clutches of larger eggs. Although there was a great disparity in egg mass between these two species, differences in newborn composition were less pronounced. Mean dry mass, adjusted for female size, of B. duperreyi eggs was 135 % greater than mean dry mass of P. entrecasteauxii eggs, yet mean dry mass of B. duperreyi offspring was only 21 % greater than that of P. entrecasteauxii offspring. Embryonic gains in water and inorganic salts during gestation in P. entrecasteauxii were substantial and resulted in the production of neonates that contained greater quantities of these variables compared to offspring of B. duperreyi. These data confirm Weekes' hypothesis that P. entrecasteauxii is matrotrophic and support her hypothesis that this species has undergone evolutionary reduction in yolk quantity.

Geographic variation in snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina serpentina) egg components across a longitudinal transect

2004 ◽  
Vol 82 (1) ◽  
pp. 102-109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael S Finkler ◽  
Anthony C Steyermark ◽  
Kate E Jenks
Keyword(s):  
Water Content ◽  
Geographic Variation ◽  
Egg Quality ◽  
Egg Mass ◽  
Female Size ◽  
Chelydra Serpentina ◽  
Shell Mass ◽  
Snapping Turtle ◽  
Air Temperatures ◽  
Egg Components

Common snapping turtles (Chelydra serpentina serpentina) have an extensive range across North America, inhabiting aquatic habitats in diverse thermal and hydric climates. Although geographic variation in reproductive characters such as female size, clutch size, and egg mass have been investigated, little is known about geographic variation in egg components. In this study, we examined variation in the water content, solid content, and shell mass of snapping turtle eggs from four populations dispersed along a longitudinal geographic transect (Pennsylvania, Michigan, Minnesota, and Nebraska). Initial egg mass and dry shell mass were similar among these four populations. However, water contents of eggs correlated positively with longitude, whereas dry content mass correlated negatively with longitude. Moreover, water content of eggs correlated negatively with the average number of days per year where average air temperatures exceeded 15 °C in a particular region (an indicator of regional thermal climate), and dry content of eggs correlated positively with both the number of days per year where average air temperatures exceeded 15 °C and the average total precipitation for the months of May through September (an indicator of regional hydric climate). These findings suggest that egg content (and perhaps egg quality) in this wide-ranging species of turtle varies in a manner reflecting differences in climate.

Body size, age distribution, and reproduction in a northern population of wood turtles (Clemmys insculpta)

1992 ◽  
Vol 70 (3) ◽  
pp. 462-469 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald J. Brooks ◽  
Cathy M. Shilton ◽  
Gregory P. Brown ◽  
Norman W. S. Quinn
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Clutch Size ◽  
Partial Correlation ◽  
Age Distribution ◽  
Egg Mass ◽  
Female Size ◽  
After Effects ◽  
Mean Width ◽  
Wood Turtles ◽  
Provincial Park

A population of the wood turtle (Clemmys insculpta) was studied on the east side of Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario, from 1987 to 1990. A total of 77 adults (56 females, 21 males) and 13 juveniles were captured, measured, and individually marked. Age at maturity was 17–18 years at a minimum carapace length of 185 mm for females and 199 mm for males. Our data supported the hypothesis that turtles in northern populations are larger and older at maturity than are those in southern populations. For 21 nests, mean clutch size was 8.8 eggs and egg mass was 96 g. Predators destroyed 15 of 17 nests in 1990, and had injured 60% of adult turtles observed. Therefore, our population had low recruitment, few juveniles, and high levels of predation on nests and adults. Comparisons among females refuted two predictions from optimal egg size theory. Mean width and mass, but not length, of eggs correlated positively with female size, and correlated positively with clutch size, even after effects of body size were removed by partial correlation. However, smaller females in the population had relatively longer eggs than did larger females, whereas the Algonquin females have absolutely smaller eggs than do much smaller females in a New Jersey population.

scholarly journals Sources of Egg-Size Variation in House Wrens (Troglodytes Aedon): Ontogenetic and Environmental Components

The Auk ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 119 (3) ◽  
pp. 800-807 ◽  
Author(s):  
John D. Styrsky ◽  
Robert C. Dobbs ◽  
Charles F. Thompson
Keyword(s):  
Egg Size ◽  
Size Variation ◽  
Egg Mass ◽  
Female Size ◽  
Ontogenetic Variation ◽  
Troglodytes Aedon ◽  
House Wrens ◽  
Female Condition ◽  
Evolutionary Response ◽  
Central Illinois

Abstract Evolutionary theory predicts that heritability of fitness-related traits should be low. Egg size in birds is a fitness-related trait, but exhibits high heritability. One possible explanation for the apparent failure of natural selection to exhaust variability is that variation in egg size is mediated by female condition. In this study, we estimated repeatability of egg size within and between successive clutches in a wild, double-brooded population of House Wrens (Troglodytes aedon) in central Illinois, and examined the relationship of egg size with female size and condition. Repeatability of egg volume and mass in individual birds was high within years and between successive years (>0.77), suggesting a substantial heritable component to variation in egg size. However, egg mass was also significantly correlated with female condition. We suggest that the high repeatability values largely reflect permanent but nongenetic (ontogenetic) variation in egg size among females, which is reflected in the positive correlation of egg size with female condition. If variation in egg size is attributable to a combination of nonheritable, ontogenetic variation and variation due to current environmental conditions among females, then selection may not produce an evolutionary response in egg size.

scholarly journals Interaction of aerosol particles composed of protein and saltswith water vapor: hygroscopic growth and microstructural rearrangement

2004 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 323-350 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Mikhailov ◽  
S. Vlasenko ◽  
R. Niessner ◽  
U. Pöschl
Keyword(s):  
Water Vapor ◽  
Mass Fraction ◽  
Osmotic Coefficient ◽  
Aerosol Particles ◽  
Dry Mass ◽  
Virial Equation ◽  
Inorganic Salts ◽  
Equivalent Diameter ◽  
Hygroscopic Growth ◽  
Kohler Theory

Abstract. The interaction of aerosol particles composed of the protein bovine serum albumin (BSA) and the inorganic salts sodium chloride and ammonium nitrate with water vapor has been investigated by hygroscopicity tandem differential mobility analyzer (H-TDMA) experiments complemented by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Köhler theory calculations (100-300nm particle size range, 298K, 960hPa). BSA was chosen as a well-defined model substance for proteins and other macromolecular compounds, which constitute a large fraction of the water-soluble organic component of air particulate matter. Pure BSA particles exhibited deliquescence and efflorescence transitions at 35% relative humidity () and a hygroscopic diameter increase by up to 10% at 95% in good agreement with model calculations based on a simple parameterisation of the osmotic coefficient. Pure NaCl particles were converted from near-cubic to near-spherical shape upon interaction with water vapor at relative humidities below the deliquescence threshold (partial surface dissolution and recrystallisation), and the diameters of pure NH4NO3 particles decreased by up to 10% due to chemical decomposition and evaporation. Mixed NaCl-BSA and NH4NO3-BSA particles interacting with water vapor exhibited mobility equivalent diameter reductions of up to 20%, depending on particle generation, conditioning, size, and chemical composition (BSA dry mass fraction 10-90%). These observations can be explained by formation of porous agglomerates (envelope void fractions up to 50%) due to ion-protein interactions and electric charge effects on the one hand, and by compaction of the agglomerate structure due to capillary condensation effects on the other. The size of NH4NO3-BSA particles was apparently also influenced by volatilisation of NH4NO3, but not as much as for pure salt particles, i.e. the protein inhibited the decomposition of NH4NO3 or the evaporation of the decomposition products NH3 and HNO3. The efflorescence threshold of NaCl-BSA particles decreased with increasing BSA dry mass fraction, i.e. the protein inhibited the formation of salt crystals and enhanced the stability of supersaturated solution droplets. The H-TDMA and TEM results indicate that the protein was enriched at the surface of the mixed particles and formed an envelope, which inhibits the access of water vapor to the particle core and leads to kinetic limitations of hygroscopic growth, phase transitions, and microstructural rearrangement processes. The Köhler theory calculations performed with different types of models demonstrate that the hygroscopic growth of particles composed of inorganic salts and proteins can be efficiently described with a simple volume additivity approach, provided that the correct dry solute mass equivalent diameter and composition are known. A parameterisation for the osmotic coefficient of macromolecular substances has been derived from an osmotic pressure virial equation. For its application only the density and molar mass of the substance have to be known or estimated, and it is fully compatible with traditional volume additivity models for salt mixtures.

Preparation of a Novel Composite Nanofiltration Membrane

2014 ◽  
Vol 665 ◽  
pp. 272-274
Author(s):  
Wei Wang ◽  
Teng Teng Qi ◽  
Yu Feng Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Organic Molecules ◽  
Interfacial Polymerization ◽  
Ph Sensitive ◽  
Inorganic Salts ◽  
Nanofiltration Membrane ◽  
Small Organic Molecules ◽  
Ethyl Methacrylate ◽  
Separation Performances ◽  
Sensitive Behavior

PDMAEMA/PSF nanofiltration (NF) membranes were prepared through interfacial polymerization of poly [2-(N,N-dimethyl amino) ethyl methacrylate](PDMAEMA) on porous polysulfone (PSF) substrate membranes. The effects of aqueous solution’s pH and crosslinking time and on separation performances of the PDMAEMA/PSF NF membrane were investigated. The results show that the rejection and flux of the PDMAEMA/PSF NF membrane show pH-sensitive behavior in NF process. Importantly, the membrane show a different separation between inorganic salts and small organic molecules.

Fecundity, lifespan and egg mass in butterflies: effects of male‐derived nutrients and female size

1997 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 166-175 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. S. OBERHAUSER
Keyword(s):  
Egg Mass ◽  
Female Size

scholarly journals Embryonic growth and antioxidant provision in avian eggs

2013 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 20130757 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Charles Deeming ◽  
Thomas W. Pike
Keyword(s):  
Vitamin E ◽  
Egg Size ◽  
Rapid Development ◽  
Interspecific Variation ◽  
Species Level ◽  
Egg Mass ◽  
Avian Embryos ◽  
Embryonic Growth ◽  
Short Period ◽  
Maternal Allocation

Avian embryos undergo extremely rapid development over a relatively short period of time, and so are likely to suffer high levels of oxidative damage unless this is mitigated by sufficient maternal allocation of appropriate antioxidants. At a species level, it is therefore predicted that antioxidants should be allocated to eggs according to the rate of embryonic growth, such that eggs containing embryos that grow faster are furnished with higher antioxidant levels, independent of egg size. We tested this prediction for three potentially important classes of dietary-derived yolk antioxidants: carotenoids, vitamin E and vitamin A. Across species, we found positive relationships between embryonic growth rate and total yolk levels of each of the three antioxidant classes. Moreover, there were consistent differences in antioxidant provision between pairs of species that share a common initial egg mass yet have differing rates of embryonic growth, such that the eggs of the faster-developing species have higher levels of carotenoids and vitamin E. These results may explain the marked interspecific variation in antioxidant provision and provide evidence for the role that these antioxidants play during embryonic development.

scholarly journals Bent DNA bows as amplifiers and biosensors for detecting DNA-interacting salts and molecules

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jack Freeland ◽  
Lihua Zhang ◽  
Shih-Ting Wang ◽  
Mason Ruiz ◽  
Yong Wang
Keyword(s):  
Organic Molecules ◽  
Inorganic Salts ◽  
Bent Dna ◽  
Dna Damages ◽  
Small Organic Molecules ◽  
Cellular Processes ◽  
Dna Targeting ◽  
Economic Methods ◽  
Potential Use

AbstractDue to the central role of DNA, its interactions with inorganic salts and small organic molecules are important for understanding various fundamental cellular processes in living systems, deciphering the mechanism of many diseases related to DNA damages, and discovering or designing inhibitors and drugs targeting DNA. However, there is still a need for improved sensitivity to detect these interactions, especially in situations where expensive sophisticated equipment is not available. Here we report our development and demonstration of bent DNA bows for amplifying, sensing, and detecting the interactions of 14 inorganic salts and small organic molecules with DNA. With the bent DNA bows, these interactions were easily visualized and quantified in gel electrophoresis, which were difficult to measure without bending. In addition, the strength of the interactions of DNA with the various salts/molecules were quantified using the modified Hill equation. This work highlights the amplification effects of the bending elastic energy stored in the DNA bows and the potential use of the DNA bows for quantitatively measuring DNA interactions with small molecules as simple economic methods; it may also pave the way for exploiting the bent DNA bows for other applications such as monitoring water quality and screening DNA-targeting molecules and drugs.

scholarly journals Bent DNA Bows as Sensing Amplifiers for Detecting DNA-Interacting Salts and Molecules

Sensors ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (11) ◽  
pp. 3112
Author(s):  
Jack Freeland ◽  
Lihua Zhang ◽  
Shih-Ting Wang ◽  
Mason Ruiz ◽  
Yong Wang
Keyword(s):  
Organic Molecules ◽  
Inorganic Salts ◽  
Dna Interactions ◽  
Bent Dna ◽  
Small Organic Molecules ◽  
Cellular Processes ◽  
Economic Methods ◽  
Simple Economic ◽  
Potential Use

Due to the central role of DNA, its interactions with inorganic salts and small organic molecules are important. For example, such interactions play important roles in various fundamental cellular processes in living systems and are involved in many DNA-damage related diseases. Strategies to improve the sensitivity of existing techniques for studying DNA interactions with other molecules would be appreciated in situations where the interactions are too weak. Here we report our development and demonstration of bent DNA bows for amplifying, sensing, and detecting the interactions of 14 inorganic salts and small organic molecules with DNA. With the bent DNA bows, these interactions were easily visualized and quantified in gel electrophoresis, which were difficult to measure without bending. In addition, the strength of the interactions of DNA with the various salts/molecules were quantified using the modified Hill equation. This work highlights the amplification effects of the bending elastic energy stored in the DNA bows and the potential use of the DNA bows for quantitatively measuring DNA interactions with small molecules as simple economic methods; it may also pave the way for exploiting the bent DNA bows for other applications such as screening DNA-interacting molecules and drugs.

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