Scientists from the Institute of Vertebrate Biology of the ASCR have proved that bats here suffer from the white-nose syndrome, a fungal disease that is threatening the ecosystem in North America. In the Czech Republic as well as in other parts of Europe, bats with this syndrome die only very rarely and the disease has not yet caused a decline in the bat population. Uncovering the cause of “European immunity” could save North American bats and avert also the disruption of the biological balance in that part of the world. New knowledge of the pathology of bats infected with the white-nose syndrome fungus in Europe was published by an international team of researchers in the Journal of Wildlife Diseases. and Natália Martínková.
European Brain Awareness Week, iniciated by the European Dana Alliance for the Brain (EDAB) organization, has been arranged in the Czech Republic by the Press Department of the ASCR, as it has already fot nine years. In March 2007, 11 lectures of the best Czech specialists were presented to high-school students and the public. and Gabriela Štefániková.
The Algatech Centre, which is a scientific division of the Institute of Microbiology of the CAS located in the Opatovický mlýn (mill) near Třeboň in South Bohemia, focuses on the research of photosynthetic microorganisms, including algae, cyanobacteria and photosynthetic bacteria. The Laboratory of algal biotechnology studies processes and technology involved in the efficient production of algae and the use of algal biomass. It seeks new bio-active compounds in algae to be used as dietary supplements, in pharmacology and biomedicine. Scientists also carry our research into various metabolites of cyanobacteria and their effects on human cells. Special interest is paid to substances inhibiting the division of cancer cells and/or selectively inducing their apoptosis. The Laboratory of anoxygenic phototrophs is engaged in the basic research of evolutionary very old prokaryotes containing photosynthetic reaction centres composed of bacteriochlorophyll and its researchers have recently discovered an entirely new photosynthetic species - a new family of phototrophic bacteria, i.e. bacteria capable of producing energy through photosynthesis. Only three new families of phototrophic bacteria were discovered over the past 100 years.The Laboratory of cell cycles of algae aims at gaining a deeper insight into molecular mechanisms regulating the specific cells cycle in green algae hat divide by multiple fission - that is divide into more than two daughter cells. Scientists´ objective is to leam more about the regulation of cell size and division, the activity of cyclin dependant kinase and cyclin dependant kinase complexes throughout the normal cell cycle as well as their role in the cell cycle interruption in case of DNA damage. The pattern of cell cycle progression in algae can also tell us more about animal embryos, since the early phases of their growth and development are controlled by similar principles as those in green algae., The Laboratory of photosynthesis studies fundamental biochemical and molecular mechanisms regarding photosynthesis, the ways of its regulation during the day or under specific stress conditions. Special attention is paid particularly to photosystem II and researchers in the laboratory have recently made a significant step towards understanding its biogenesis. Photosystem II is a complicated protein complex present in the cells of plants, algae and cyanobacteria, the proper functioning of which is essential for photosynthesis. Research teams from the Algatech centre, together with colleagues from British universities have described the first phases of photosystem II synthesis, namely the mechanism by which chlorophyll molecules are inserted into core proteins of photosystem IIand how the functional core of this complex is assembled. Moreover, they have recently presented a substantially new view of repair mechanisms of photosystem II and the ways of recognition of its damaged protein subunits that have to be degraded and replaced. Deepening the understanding of fundamental processes in algae, cyanobacteria and photosynthetic bacteria can help use their potential in many practical applications, from biomass and biofuels to medicine., and Jana Olivová.