Early development of the coccidium Sarcocystis muriviperae Matuschka, Heydom, Mehlhom, Abd-Al-Aal, Diesing et Bichler, 1987 is described from experimentally infected white mice fed sporocysts from naturally infected Vipera palaestinae and Coluber jugularis. Although the course of infection was similar, mice infected with the sporocysts from the first host survived an inoculum of up to 200,000 sporocysts, while others infected with the second, succumbed to inocula exceeding 40,000 sporocysts in 7-10 days post infection (p,i,). Histological and ultrastructural studies revealed merogony in the hepatocytes during days 7-10 p.i. and onset of sarcocyst development by days 19-21 p.i. The livers of infected mice are grossly enlarged and of a mottled whitish colour due to severe neutrophil inflammatory infiltration, apparently stimulated by host cell residues or from defunct disaggregating meronts at the end of the merogony cycle. Early sarcocysts undergo a further division by endopolygeny before proceeding to division by endodyogeny.
Net photosynthesis (Pn)> transpiration (£) and water use efficiency (WUE) responses to prolonged drought and subsequent recovery after rewatering were investigated in sun and shade leaves of two maize (Zea mays L. cv. Pioneer 3839 SC) stands with different plant density (6.2 and 10.8 plants per m^). Drought stress was induced by the very smáli amount of precipitation (60 mm) during the 57 d of the study period. was higher in both sun and shade leaves in the low density stand through the study period, presumably owing to higher degree of intraspecific competition in the denser stand. did not decrease under severe drought stress in the sun leaves of the two stands. WUE decreased in sun leaves in both stands. decreased most in the shade leaves of the high density stand, due to less available radiation in this stand. The higher degree of intraspecific competition might also contribute to this. The short- and long-term responses by the stands to irrigation differed greatly, as WUE decreased in the high density stand and increased in the low density stand. Thus was more strongly affected in the high density stand because of the higher degree of interactive drought stress and intraspecific competition concurrently with considerable loss of stomatal control of E.
Seven species of the genus Trichodina Ehrenberg, 1838 were identified during a sampling programme of twenty freshwater fish species from approximately sixty sites in Scotland, England and Wales. Species found include: Trichodina acuta Lom, 1961 from Cyprinus carpio L., Carassius auralus L., Oncorhynchus mykiss (Walbaum), Salmo trutta L. and Phoxinus phoxinus L.; Trichodina domerguei Wallengren, 1897 from Gasterosteus aculeatuir L.; Trichodina tenuidens Faurc-Fremiet, 1944 from Gasterosteus aculeatus; Trichodina pediculus Ehrenberg, 1838 from Gasterosteus aculeatus; Trichodina modesta Lom, 1970 from Abramis brama L.; Trichodina nigra Lom, 1960 from Cyprinus carpio, Salmo trutta and Oncorhynchus mykiss', and Trichodina intermedia Lom, 1960 from Phoxinus phoxinus. Morphological variation within and between host populations and host specificity of the Trichodina species recovered are described.