Nostoc muscorum cells showed metal-induced decrease in the relative growth, pigment contents, O2 evolution, and Hill activity in response to lead (Pb2+) and cadmium (Cd2+) treatment, which was further accentuated with increase in metal exposure time and metal concentration. I50 concentrations (50% growth inhibitory concentrations) of Pb2+ and Cd2+ for growth of N. muscorum were 55 and 21 μg mL-1, respectively. These results indicated that the cells of N. muscorum were more susceptible to Cd2+ in comparison to Pb2+. The O2 production was relatively more sensitive to both heavy metals (I50: 16 and 10 μg mL-1 of Pb2+ and Cd2+, respectively) than the Hill activity (I50: 61 and 39 μg mL-1 of Pb2+ and Cd2+, respectively). Further, measurement of Hill activity in the presence of metals and electron donors showed that inhibition sites of both Pb2+ and Cd2+ were located on the oxidizing site of PSII. The chlorophyll a (Chl a) and phycobilisome (PB) fluorescence emission spectra showed that energy transfer from Chl a and PB to PSII reaction center was more susceptible to Cd2+ than Pb2+., S. Dixit, D. P. Singh., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Ischemia can contribute to the inner ear pathology and hearing loss. To determine the susceptibility of inner and outer hair cells (IHCs/OHCs) to ischemic and post-ischemic period, we used organotypic cultures of the organ of Corti isolated from P3 rats as an in vitro model of inner ear ischemia (oxygen-glucose deprivation, OGD). We identified the hair cells (HCs) by phalloidin staining. The cells with damaged cellular membrane integrity were identified by propidium iodide (PI)-exclusion assay. The cells with fragmented chromosomal DNA were detected by TUNEL assay. Organotypic cultures were subjected to a mild (3 h duration) or severe (4 h duration ) OGD, followed by a recovery period of 21 h and 20 h, respectively. Mild OGD induced a loss of 10-20 % HCs, whereas severe OGD induced loss of 35 % HCs. We confirmed that OHCs are less vulnerable to OGD than IHCs. Of all missing OHCs, 80-90 % was lost during the OGD period and 10-20 % during the recovery period. In contrast, the loss of IHCs was equal during both experimental periods. The OGD period was mainly associated with PI-positive nuclei. TUNEL-positive nuclei were a minor frac tion during the OGD period and increased during the recovery period, indicating the progression of DNA fragmentation. Our results implicate a differential susceptibility of IHCs and OHCs during and after ischemia-like insult, which may be of therapeutic consequence., N. Amarjargal ... [et al.]., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
In eukaryotic oxygenic photosynthetic organisms (both plants and algae), the maximum fluorescence is at peak P, with peak M lying much lower, or being even absent. Thus, the PSMT phase, where S is semisteady state, and T is terminal state, is replaced by a monotonous P→T fluorescence decay. In the present study, we found that dimethoate-treated wheat plant leaves showed SM transient, whereas in the case of control plants monotonous P→T fluorescence decay occured. We suggest that this was partly due to quenching of fluorescence due to [H+], responsible for P to S (T) decay in control plants (Briantais et al. 1979) being replaced by state transition (state 2 to state 1) in dimethoate-treated plants (Kaňa et al. 2012)., J. K. Pandey, R. Gopal., and Obsahuje bibliografii
The photosynthetic responses to elevated CO2 concentration (EC) at ambient and ambient +4°C temperature were aßsessed in the second leaf of rice (Oryza sativa L.) seedlings. The duration of different leaf developmental phases, as characterised by changes in photosynthetic pigment contents and photochemical potential, was protracted in the seedlings grown under EC. On the other hand, a temporal shift in the phases of development with an early onset of senescence was observed in the seedlings grown under EC at ambient +4°C temperature. The contents of carotenoids, ß-carotene, and xanthophyll cycle pigments revealed that EC downregulated the protective mechanism of photosynthetic apparatus against oxidative damages, whereas this mechanism assumed higher significance under EC at ambient +4°C temperature. We observed an enhancement in electron transport activity, photochemical potential, and net photosynthesis in spite of a loss in photostasis of photosynthesis under EC. On the other hand, the loss in photostasis of photosynthesis was exacerbated under EC at ambient +4°C temperature due to the decline in electron transport activity, photochemical potential, and net photosynthesis., S. Panigrahi, M. K. Pradhan, D. K. Panda, S. K. Panda, P. N. Joshi., and Seznam literatury
Dinocampus coccinellae is a parasitoid wasp usually parasitizing ladybird beetles of the tribe Coccinellini. A field survey conducted between March and November 2016 revealed three hosts of this parasitoid in the Srinagar district of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir: two members of the Coccinellini (Oenopia conglobata and Coccinella undecimpunctata) and one of the Chilocorini (Priscibrumus uropygialis). Proportion of the latter (atypical) host that were parasitized was 0.09 and intermediate between that recorded for C. undecimpunctata (0.06) and O. conglobata (0.14). A series of laboratory experiments revealed that while a member of Coccinellini (O. conglobata) was more often attacked by D. coccinellae than a member of Chilocorini (P. uropygialis), the proportions of each species from which parasitoids emerged did not differ significantly. There were no significant differences between D. coccinellae females bred from O. conglobata and P. uropygialis, with respect to selection of the two host species and their suitability for the development of the parasitoid. However, members of the Chilocorini other than P. uropygialis (Chilocorus infernalis and Simmondsius pakistanensis) were rarely attacked by D. coccinellae and parasitoid larvae did not emerge from any of those attacked. The results of our experiments indicate that in Kashmir Himalayas D. coccinellae is adapted to parasitize hosts belonging to both Coccinellini and Chilocorini., Amir Maqbool, Imtiaz Ahmed, Piotr Kiełtyk, Piotr Ceryngier., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Dírkonošci (Foraminifera), mořští prvoci s vápenatou schránkou, obývají naši planetu více než půl miliardy let. Zkoumáním způsobu života těch současných se mnohé dozvíme o jejich pravěkých předcích i o dávných mořích, ve kterých žili., Foraminifera - a rich group of mainly marine microorganisms - are widely used for paleoecological reconstructions. Their occurrence provides important data about past ecological conditions of the sites. We reconstructed former conditions in Židlochovice research site (southern Moravia) by comparing fossil communities with the recent ones present on the island of Rab (Adriatic Sea)., and Anna Poštulková.
A new species of Lymanopoda Westwood, a cloud forest Neotropical genus of Satyrinae, is described from the páramo grasslands on an isolated, peripheral massif in the Colombian Central Cordillera of the Andes: L. flammigera Pyrcz, Prieto & Boyer, sp. n. The genus Lymanopoda is species-rich (approx. 65 species) and its alpha taxonomy is relatively well researched. Relationships within the genus using molecular data have also been explored. The new species is outstanding for its golden yellow colour in males, not found in any other neotropical Satyrinae. Cladograms were constructed based on COI sequences of 47 species of Lymanopoda (~ 70% of the known species) including 17 from Colombia. The new species segregates in the "tolima" clade, which comprises four other high altitude Colombian species, as well as two from Ecuador. However, it is the comparative analysis of male genitalia, in particular the superuncus and valvae, which identified its closest relatives, thus confirming that genital characters can help refine molecular phylogenies. In addition to identifying species using mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA barcodes), nucleotide sites with unique fixed states used to identify nine species of Lymanopoda from Colombia are also presented., Tomasz W. Pyrcz, Carlos Prieto, Pierre Boyer, Jadwiga Lorenc-Brudecka., and Obsahuje bibliografii
The scydmaenine tribe Eutheiini is recorded from Australia for the first time. Paraneseuthia carltoni sp. n. and P. booloumba sp. n. are described and illustrated, both from Queensland. In a parsimony-based phylogenetic analysis using adult morphological characters including genital features, the Australian species together with the Melanesian type species of Paraneseuthia Franz, P. peckorum Franz, were found to be more closely related to East Palearctic congeners than to most of the Paraneseuthia in the Sunda-Papuan area. The topology of the tree and biogeographic data suggest a Sundaland origin of this genus, with three major dispersal routes from a center located in present-day Sumatra: (i) north-eastern colonization of the Palearctic Far East, via a continental or island-arc route; (ii) south-eastern dispersal to East Australia; and (iii) eastern dispersal to Melanesia, possibly via the Quaternary Outer-Melanesian Arc. The important role of dispersal in the evolution of Paraneseuthia is supported by the presence of this genus on isolated volcanic islands, such as the southern Moluccas and Fiji, which were never connected to larger land masses. and Paweł Jałoszyński.
a1_Perennial organ functions of trees living in seasonal environments exhibit temporal changes that can be classified as long-term interannual changes and seasonal fluctuations within single years. However, few studies have separately quantified these changes from longitudinal measurement data or analyzed the relationships between them. We developed a hierarchical Bayesian statistical model consisting of three parts: a long-term interannual change expressed by consecutive annual linear trends, seasonal fluctuations with 26 values for two-week periods in a year, and a random effect for repeated measurements. The model can extract long-term interannual changes and seasonal fluctuations from longitudinal repeated measure data. The pattern of seasonal fluctuation, the amount of seasonal fluctuation, and the net annual change are expressed by the estimated model parameters. We applied our model to foliar chlorophyll (Chl) and nitrogen (N) content measured repeatedly on more than 1-year-old leaves of saplings in four evergreen broad-leaved tree species using nondestructive optical methods. The model successfully explained large variations in the Chl and N content. In general, seasonal fluctuations corresponded to the phenology of current-year leaves; Chl and N tended to decrease from the opening to maturation of new leaves and increased during the rest period. The magnitude of the decrease in the Chl and N content in the growth period of current-year leaves (Δγ) did not decrease noticeably as leaves aged. For the Chl content, Δγ was positively correlated with the maximum value before leaf opening across species. For the N content, Δγ and the maximum value before leaf opening were not clearly correlated across species, but were positively correlated within some species., a2_A model parameter for annual linear trends in Chl and N varied from positive (indicating increasing trends) to negative values (indicating decrease) depending on species and leaf age in years., D. Mizusaki, K. Umeki, T. Honjo., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
Cystic echinococcosis (CE) is a zoonotic disease caused by the tapeworms of the Echinococcus granulosus sensu lato complex, which have worldwide distribution. No data on the circulation of genotypes of the E. granulosus complex in intermediate hosts in endemic areas in Calabria are available. The aims of our study were to evaluate the dispersal of genotypes of the E. granulosus complex in Calabria and to characterise parasite isolates by Sanger sequencing and phylogenetic analysis. We collected 71 animal samples from pigs, wild boars, sheep, cattle and goats. The first PCR screening analysis targeted three partial genomic regions: the cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (cox1), calreticulin protein (cal) and NADH dehydrogenase subunit 1 (nad1); this identified 28 parasitic cysts. Bidirectional sequencing of cox1 amplicons and phylogenetic analysis allowed us to characterise all isolates. Molecular analyses of 28 newly generated cox1 sequences revealed that most wild boars (n = 16) and three pigs were parasitised by the larval stage of Taenia hydatidena Pallas, 1766, called cysticercus tenuicollis. Two isolates from wild boars were identified as Echinococcus canadensis Webster and Cameron, 1961 (G7), while five sheep and two goats were infected with E. granulosus G1 (sheep strain) and G1 microvariant (previously reported as G2 genotype or Tasmanian sheep strain), respectively. These molecular findings should prompt further and more extensive studies, to elucidate regional transmission patterns and to guide control programs., Grazia Pavia, Federica De Gori, Lucia Ciambrone, Natalino De Gori, Rosanna Musarella and Francesco Casalinuovo., and Obsahuje bibliografii