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Glutamate plays an important role in osmoprotection in various bacteria. In these cases, increased intracellular glutamate pools are not attributable to the NADP-dependent glutamate dehydrogenase (NADP-GDH) or the glutamate synthase, which do not increase their activities under hyperosmotic conditions, but rather to changes in other enzymes involved in glutamate metabolism. We performed a study which indicates that, as opposed to what happens in bacteria, the activity of NADP-GDH is fivefold higher when the halotolerant yeast Debaryomyces hansenii is grown in the presence of 1 M NaCl, compared with growth in media with no added salt. Since purified NADP-GDH activity in vitro was not enhanced by the presence of salt and was more sensitive to ionic strength than the two isoenzymes from S. cerevisiae, increased enzyme synthesis is the most plausible mechanism to explain our results. We discuss the possibility that increased NADP-GDH activity in D. hansenii plays a role in counteracting the inhibitory effect of high ionic strength on the activity of this enzyme.

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Paternal behavior and testosterone plasma levels in the Volcano Mouse Neotomodon alstoni (Rodentia: Muridae). Although initially it was thought that testosterone inhibited the display of paternal behavior in males of rodents, it has been shown that in some species high testosterone levels are needed for exhibition of paternal care. In captivity, males of volcano Mouse (Neotomodon alstoni) provide pups the same care provided by the mother, with the exception of suckling. Here we measured plasmatic testosterone concentrations 10 days after mating, five and 20 days postpartum, and 10 days after males were isolated from their families in order to determine possible changes in this hormone, associated to the presence and age of pups. Males of volcano Mouse exhibited paternal behavior when their testosterone levels were relatively high. Although levels of this hormone did not change with the presence or pups age, males that invested more time in huddling showed higher testosterone levels. It is possible that in the volcano Mouse testosterone modulates paternal behavior indirectly, as in the California mouse.