Metabolic Heat Dissipation and Internal Solute Levels of Artemia Embryos During Changes in Cell-Associated Water

1989 ◽  
Vol 145 (1) ◽  
pp. 263-282 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. S. GLASHEEN ◽  
STEVEN C. HAND

Embryos (cysts) of the brine shrimp Artemia enter a profound, yet reversible, state of metabolic arrest in response to cellular dehydration. We have monitored metabolic activity during this transition in embryos from the Great Salt Lake population by using microcalorimetric measurements of heat dissipation. Embryo hydration states can be precisely controlled by immersing cysts in solutions of varying ionic strength. When developing embryos were incubated in a 2.0moll−1NaCl solution, heat dissipation fell after 20 h to 1.13 mWg−1 dry mass, or 21 % of the value obtained when embryos were in control solutions of 0.25 moll−1. At higher ionic concentrations, heat dissipation declined to as low as 3% of control values. Recovery from dehydration was rapid. Energy flow increased to 135% of control values within 2h after returning cysts to the control medium. These metabolic transitions were correlated with embryo hydration levels measured across the same dehydration series. Total cyst water ranged from 112±2.6 gH2O 100 g−1 dry mass in 0.25 mol l−1 NaCl to 46±0.6 gH2O 100 g−1 dry mass in 5.0 mol l−1 NaCl. At the first point where heat dissipation was markedly suppressed (the 2.0 mol l−1 incubation), cyst water content was 72.8 ±0.9 gH2O 100 g−1 dry mass. This water content is similar to the ‘critical’ hydration level required to suppress carbohydrate catabolism and respiration in San Francisco Bay Artemia embryos (Clegg, 1976a,b). However, hydration characteristics of the two populations differed in solutions of lower ionic concentration. Total osmotic pressure in fully hydrated cysts was 1300 mosmol kg−1 H2O. A comprehensive inventory of the internal osmolytes indicated that inorganic ions (Na+, K+, Cl−, Mg2+, Ca2+, Pi) accounted for 21% of the osmotic activity and 1.48% of embryo dry mass. Organic solutes (trehalose, glycerol, ninhydrinpositive substances, and trimethylamine-N-oxide+betaine) contributed 60% of the osmotic pressure and 22% of the dry mass. Macromolecular components (protein, lipids, glycogen and DNA) were also quantified and formed the bulk of embryo mass. Taken together, 97.4% of the cyst dry mass was identified. At the cellular dehydration state promoting metabolic arrest, the concentrations of inorganic and organic osmolytes were 480–590 mmol kg−1 H2O and 1200–1480 mmol kg−1 H2O, respectively. The influence of these osmolyte concentrations is considered in the context of macromolecular assembly and metabolic control.

Author(s):  
R.D. Leapman ◽  
S.Q. Sun ◽  
S-L. Shi ◽  
R.A. Buchanan ◽  
S.B. Andrews

Recent advances in rapid-freezing and cryosectioning techniques coupled with use of the quantitative signals available in the scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM) can provide us with new methods for determining the water distributions of subcellular compartments. The water content is an important physiological quantity that reflects how fluid and electrolytes are regulated in the cell; it is also required to convert dry weight concentrations of ions obtained from x-ray microanalysis into the more relevant molar ionic concentrations. Here we compare the information about water concentrations from both elastic (annular dark-field) and inelastic (electron energy loss) scattering measurements.In order to utilize the elastic signal it is first necessary to increase contrast by removing the water from the cryosection. After dehydration the tissue can be digitally imaged under low-dose conditions, in the same way that STEM mass mapping of macromolecules is performed. The resulting pixel intensities are then converted into dry mass fractions by using an internal standard, e.g., the mean intensity of the whole image may be taken as representative of the bulk water content of the tissue.


1958 ◽  
Vol 149 (934) ◽  
pp. 130-143 ◽  

Volume-osmotic pressure relationships at equilibrium have been obtained in chick heart fibroblasts grown in slide-coverslip cultures in a fluid medium consisting of heparinized plasma and embryo extract. The refractive index of the fibroblast gives a direct measure of its solid concentration, and the volume is estimated as the reciprocal of concentration. The volume is found to be linearly related to the reciprocal of the osmotic pressure over a range from 130 to 587 m-osm, provided the measurements are carried out rapidly at 38°C. The isotonic water content of the cells derived from the gradient of the regression line on the basis of the simple Boyle-van’t Hoff Law was found to be less than actual water content obtained by direct refractometry, i. e. the value of Ponder’s ℛ was 0⋅94 (s. d. 0⋅04). In cultures grown in a simple saline medium and measured at 22°C the volume was related linearly to the reciprocal of the osmotic pressure only between the limits of 330 and 191 m-osm. Outside these limits the volume was greater than expected and this was attributed to alterations in the semi-permeable properties of the cell membrane. The value of Ponder’s ℛ in these cultures was 1⋅15. The importance of the quantity, ℛ, as applied to cells other than the erythrocyte, is indicated. The value, 0⋅94 (s. d. 0⋅04), obtained in fibroblasts under physiological conditions is not explicable on the basis of the probable osmotic properties in vitro of the cell proteins. The discrepancy is within the experimental error, but it may also be due to abnormal osmotic behaviour of the cell proteins resulting from some form of intermolecular structure in the cytoplasm.


1965 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 531-538 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. S. Jhooty ◽  
W. E. McKeen

The conidia of Sphaerotheca macularis germinate best at a relative humidity (R.H.) of 99 and 100% on glass surfaces, and germination does not occur if the R.H. is below 93%. Conidia of Erysiphe polygoni DC. germinate at 3% R.H. The water content of conidia of S. macularis and E. polygoni is 53 and 69% respectively. The osmotic pressure of S. macularis conidia is about 18 atm and their density varies from 1.10 to 1.11 g/ml. There is no significant change in the diameter and length of the conidia during germination.


1956 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 493-501
Author(s):  
G. A. KERKUT ◽  
B. J. R. TAYLOR

1. The effects of different dilutions of Locke solution on the electrical activity of the isolated pedal ganglion of the slug can be reproduced by adding different concentrations of glucose of mannitol to a given concentration of Locke. 2. This indicates that certain cells in the pedal ganglion are sensitive to the osmotic pressure of the solution and not its ionic concentration. 3. The preparation is sensitive to slow changes in the concentration of the bathing medium. The cells increased their activity when the bathing solution was slowly changed from 0.7 Locke to 0.6 Locke, the change taking 43 min. This corresponds approximately to a change of 1% of the body fluid concentration over 4 min. Such rates of change are found in the normal intact animal. 4. The sensitivity of the preparation compares well with that of the mammalian osmoreceptors.


Author(s):  
Jules Verne

On leaving the Great Salt Lake and Ogden Station, the train headed north for about an hour, as far as the River Weber, about 900 miles from San Francisco. From that point, it headed east across the rugged mass of the Wasatch Range. It...


2016 ◽  
Vol 113 (26) ◽  
pp. 7059-7064 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aida Ebrahimi ◽  
Muhammad Ashraful Alam

Bacteria cells use osmoregulatory proteins as emergency valves to respond to changes in the osmotic pressure of their external environment. The existence of these emergency valves has been known since the 1960s, but they have never been used as the basis of a viability assay to tell dead bacteria cells apart from live ones. In this paper, we show that osmoregulation provides a much faster, label-free assessment of cell viability compared with traditional approaches that rely on cell multiplication (growth) to reach a detectable threshold. The cells are confined in an evaporating droplet that serves as a dynamic microenvironment. Evaporation-induced increase in ionic concentration is reflected in a proportional increase of the droplet’s osmotic pressure, which in turn, stimulates the osmoregulatory response from the cells. By monitoring the time-varying electrical conductance of evaporating droplets, bacterial cells are identified within a few minutes compared with several hours in growth-based methods. To show the versatility of the proposed method, we show detection of WT and genetically modified nonhalotolerant cells (Salmonella typhimurium) and dead vs. live differentiation of nonhalotolerant (such as Escherichia coli DH5α) and halotolerant cells (such as Staphylococcus epidermidis). Unlike the growth-based techniques, the assay time of the proposed method is independent of cell concentration or the bacteria type. The proposed label-free approach paves the road toward realization of a new class of real time, array-formatted electrical sensors compatible with droplet microfluidics for laboratory on a chip applications.


2014 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 480 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Matt Jolly ◽  
Ann M. Hadlow ◽  
Kathleen Huguet

Live foliar moisture content (LFMC) significantly influences wildland fire behaviour. However, characterising variations in LFMC is difficult because both foliar mass and dry mass can change throughout the season. Here we quantify the seasonal changes in both plant water status and dry matter partitioning. We collected new and old foliar samples from Pinus contorta for two growing seasons and quantified their LFMC, relative water content (RWC) and dry matter chemistry. LFMC quantifies the amount of water per unit fuel dry weight whereas RWC quantifies the amount of water in the fuel relative to how much water the fuel can hold at saturation. RWC is generally a better indicator of water stress than is LFMC. We separated water mass from dry mass for each sample and we attempted to best explain the seasonal variations in each using our measured physiochemical variables. We found that RWC explained 59% of variation in foliar water mass. Additionally, foliar starch, sugar and crude fat content explained 87% of the variation in seasonal dry mass changes. These two models combined explained 85% of the seasonal variations in LFMC. These results demonstrate that changes to dry matter exert a stronger control on seasonal LFMC dynamics than actual changes in water content, and they challenge the assumption that LFMC variations are strongly related to water stress. This methodology could be applied across a range of plant functional types to better understand the factors that drive seasonal changes in LFMC and live fuel flammability.


1981 ◽  
Vol 88 (2) ◽  
pp. 274-280 ◽  
Author(s):  
R E Bulger ◽  
R Beeuwkes ◽  
A J Saubermann

The electrolyte and water content of cellular and interstitial compartments in the renal papilla of the rat was determined by x-ray microanalysis of frozen-hydrated tissue sections. Papillae from rats on ad libitum water were rapidly frozen in a slush of Freon 12, and sectioned in a cryomicrotome at -30 to -40 degrees C. Frozen 0.5-micrometer sections were mounted on carbon-coated nylon film over a Be grid, transferred cold to the scanning microscope, and maintained at -175 degrees C during analysis. The scanning transmission mode was used for imaging. Structural preservation was of good quality and allowed identification of tissue compartments. Tissue mass (solutes + water) was determined by continuum radiation from regions of interest. After drying in the SEM, elemental composition of morphologically defined compartments (solutes) was determined by analysis of specific x-rays, and total dry mass by continuum. Na, K, Cl, and H2O contents in collecting-duct cells (CDC), papillary epithelial cells (PEC), and interstitial cells (IC) and space were measured. Cells had lower water content (mean 58.7%) than interstitium (77.5%). Intracellular K concentrations (millimoles per kilogram wet weight) were unremarkable (79-156 mm/kg wet weight); P was markedly higher in cells than in interstitium. S was the same in all compartments. Intracellular Na levels were extremely high (CDC, 344 +/- 127 SD mm/kg wet weight; PEC, 287 +/- 105; IC, 898 +/- 194). Mean interstitial Na was 590 +/- 119 mm/kg wet weight. CI values paralleled those for Na. If this Na is unbound, then these data suggest that renal papillary interstitial cells adapt to their hyperosmotic environment by a Na-uptake process.


2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark D. Petersen ◽  
Allison M. Shumway ◽  
Peter M. Powers ◽  
Charles S. Mueller ◽  
Morgan P. Moschetti ◽  
...  

During 2017–2018, the National Seismic Hazard Model for the conterminous United States was updated as follows: (1) an updated seismicity catalog was incorporated, which includes new earthquakes that occurred from 2013 to 2017; (2) in the central and eastern United States (CEUS), new ground motion models were updated that incorporate updated median estimates, modified assessments of the associated epistemic uncertainties and aleatory variabilities, and new soil amplification factors; (3) in the western United States (WUS), amplified shaking estimates of long-period ground motions at sites overlying deep sedimentary basins in the Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, and Salt Lake City areas were incorporated; and (4) in the conterminous United States, seismic hazard is calculated for 22 periods (from 0.01 to 10 s) and 8 uniform VS30 maps (ranging from 1500 to 150 m/s). We also include a description of updated computer codes and modeling details. Results show increased ground shaking in many (but not all) locations across the CEUS (up to ~30%), as well as near the four urban areas overlying deep sedimentary basins in the WUS (up to ~50%). Due to population growth and these increased hazard estimates, more people live or work in areas of high or moderate seismic hazard than ever before, leading to higher risk of undesirable consequences from forecasted future ground shaking.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document