A comparative study of the leaves of Cat hay a argyrophylla Chun & Kuang and three species of Keteleeria Carrière

Details of the cuticular, epidermal and anatomical features of the leaves of Cathaya argyrophylla Chun & Kuang, are described and compared with those of three species of Keteleeria (K. davidiana (Bertrand) Beissner, K. fortunei (Murray) Carriere, and K. chien-peii Flous). The study supports the creation of Cathaya Chun & Kuang as a new genus of the Pinaceae.     

Ciliary receptors associated with the mouth and pharynx of Acoela (Acoelomorpha): a comparative ultrastructural study

The ultrastructure and distribution of receptor cells near the mouth and (where present) the pharynx of Hofstenia miamia, Proporus bermudensis, Conaperta thela, and Convoluta convoluta (Acoela) were investigated by transmission electron microscopy and confocal laser scanning microscopy of specimens stained with a fluorescence marker for actin. Five types of monociliary receptors were identified: (1) non‐collared receptors with a single long and narrow ciliary rootlet; (2) non‐collared receptors with a wide main ciliary rootlet and a smaller posterior rootlet; (3) non‐collared receptors with a single wide and hollow ciliary rootlet with a granulated core; (4) Collar (?) receptors with obliquely radial filament bundles in the cell apex and with a single hollow ciliary rootlet composed of numerous strand‐like elements; and (5) Collar receptors lacking a striated rootlet but with a granular body (swallow's nest rootlet). While H. miamia bears the first two receptor types, P. bermudensis has receptors of type 1, 3 and 5, and Cona. thela and Conv. convoluta have receptors of type 3, 4 and 5. The density of receptors is generally highest at the anterior body tip, regardless of where the mouth is located. Most receptor types occur scattered over the whole body but type 2 receptors of H. miamia are restricted to the pharynx and mouth region. The lack of a common receptor type specific for the mouth and pharynx of the investigated species points to an independent origin of the pharynges in Hofsteniidae and in Proporidae and of the mouth tube in Convolutidae. Moreover, the homology of the so‐called collar receptors in Acoela with typical collar receptors in other invertebrates is questioned.     

Presence of serum albumin in normal human epidermis: Possible implications for the nutrition and physiology of stratified epithelia

In this paper, using both immunofluorescence and protein biochemistry techniques, we present definitive evidence that plasma proteins such as albumin are present within normal human epidermis. This result confirms several previous reports supporting the idea that relatively large molecules can diffuse through the epidermal basement membrane into epidermis. Our results bring new insights for discussing how hydrophobic ligands or drugs present in the bloodstream and bound to plasmatic carriers can reach epidermal cells of all layers.Abbreviations CHAPS 3-[3-cholamidopropyl dimethylammonio] propane sulfonate - kD kilodaltons - BSA bovine serum albumin - 2ME 2-mercaptoethanol - DTT dithiothreitol - SDS sodium dodecyl sulfate - pI isoelectric point - Mw molecular weight - Tris Tris-(hydroxymethyl) aminomethane - 1D one dimensional - 2D two dimensional - PAGE poly acrylamide gel electrophoresis - MEM Minimal Eagle's Medium     

The influence of fixation on the relative amount of cytoplasmic ribosomes in mouse epidermal basal keratinocytes

The nature and significance of so-called dark keratinocytes in the epidermis during chemical carcinogenesis is still a matter of concern and debate. Based on ultrastructural observations it has been suggested that dark cells most often are shrunken cells. Reports on skin carcinogenesis, however, claim that dark cells are a sign of ongoing tumor promotion and represent those stem cells in the epidermis from which the tumors originate. It is therefore important to find out whether these cells are simply injured and shrunken cells, or vital cells of great importance for carcinogenesis. Dark cells are assumed to be rich in ribosomes. There is evidence, however, that the observed number of dark cells is highly dependent on tissue fixation. In the present ultrastructural study, morphometric methods were used to compare the effects of two different fixation procedures on the amount of cytoplasmic ribosomes in dark cells from both untreated and carcinogen-treated hairless mouse epidermis. The results show that the ultrastructural features of both dark and clear cells vary considerably with different fixation procedures. In acetone-treated controls typical dark cells are only observed when the fixative has a lower osmotic activity than the plasma. With iso-osmolal fixation typical dark cells are not observed. After an abortive two-stage carcinogenesis treatment, in which a single application of 9,10-dimethyl-l,2-benzanthracene (DMBA) in acetone was followed by a single application of 12-O-tetradecanoyl-13-acetate (TPA) in acetone, signs of cell injury could be found after both fixation procedures. With DMBA/TPA and hypo-osmolal fixation the number of dark cells seemed to increase, whereas only signs of cell injury with occurrence of some heavily altered “clear cells” dominated the picture with iso-osmolal fixation. Morphometry showed that both the numerical and the volumetric densities of cytoplasmic ribosomes in basal keratinocytes varied most significantly with the fixation procedure used. The cytoplasmic volumes did not vary in a way that could explain these differences. One might therefore assume that the number of ribosomes depends on the fixative. Large swelling artifacts occurred when a fixative with low osmotic activity was used, leading to compression of neighboring cells. Hence, an increased ribosomal density reported previously in dark cells is probably related to such cell volume artifacts and does not reflect an actually increased quantity of ribosomes. With both fixation procedures, a single application of DMBA followed by one of TPA appeared to produce an increased number of ribosomes in basal keratinocytes. When hypo-osmolal fixation was used, however, treatment with DMBA/TPA did not influence the cytoplasmic volume or the numerical density of ribosomes, in dark cells. This might indicate that so-called dark keratinocytes following DMBA/TPA treatment are functionally inactive cells that appear more vulnerable than active cells to compression during hypo-osmolal fixation.     

Is the Turbellaria polyphyletic?

Within the last two decades, syntheses of both light-microscopic and ultrastructural characters have shown that there are three well-defined monophyletic groups within the Platyhelminthes: 1) the Catenulidale, 2) the Nemertodermatida-Acoela, and 3) the Haplopharyngida-Macrostomida-Polycladida-Neoophora (+ parasitic platyhelminth classes). However, the relationships among these three groups are problematic. The possible apomorphies that would unite them are either not true homologues (i.e. frontal organ), are mutually conflicting (i.e. 9+1 axoneme in spermatozoa vs. biflagellate spermatozoa, epidermal ciliary rootlet structure, and protonephridia), or are unrooted with any outgroup and hence untestable or uncertain as apomorphies (protonephridia, mode of epidermal replacement, absence of accessory centrioles on cilia). The chief obstacle to deciphering the relationships of these groups is the lack of information on them; presently available information is insufficient to test potential synapomorphies and insufficient also to allow agreement upon a narrowly defined outgroup for the Turbellaria.A view consistent with the present evidence (and admittedly an unsatisfactory view) is to regard the Turbellaria (and hence the Platyhelminthes) as polyphyletic, consisting of three separate and unrelatable groups.     

A comparative study of the epidermis of the common carp and the three Indian major carp

A comparative study has been made of the mucogenic epidermis of the common carp, Cyprinus carpio var. communis, and the three Indian major carps, Catla catla, Labeo rohita and Cirrhina mrigala: on the basis of epidermis structural organization, these species are easily differentiated. The epithelial cells in the superficial layer, as in most fishes, show secretory activity, evidenced by positive histochemical reactions, which is high in C. carpio var. communis, moderate in C. catla and low in L. rohita and C. mrigala. The epithelial cells in the underlying two or three layers also give positive reactions, though their intensity is relatively weak. The mucous cells in C. carpio var. communis are distributed in large numbers arranged in several superimposed layers in the outer regions of the epidermis, whereas in C. catla they are fewer in number and are widely separated in the surface layers as well as in the deeper layers of the epidermis; in both species the mucous cells appear rounded, large, and open on the surface by wide pores. In contrast, in L. rohita and C. mrigala the mucous cells are smaller, restricted mainly to the superficial layer, close together in a single row, and open on the surface by narrow pores. The overall density of mucous cells in L. rohita and C. mrigala, as in C. catla, is much lower than in C. carpio var. communis. In the epidermis of C. carpio var. communis there are a large number of mucous cells, and the few club cells are restricted to the deeper layers. In contrast, in the epidermis of the three Indian major carp the overall density of the mucous cells is much lower and the club cells are very numerous. It is suggested that the high density of club cells compensates an overall low density of mucous cells as an adaptation for an effective defence mechanism. Increased mucus production in the epidermis of C. carpio var. communis, as evidenced by a large number of mucous cells in outer regions and high secretory activity of superficial layer epithelial cells, is associated with increased precipitation of mud held in suspension, needed as an adaptation to the species’peculiar bottom-scooping habits. The varied density of the taste buds in the epidermis of the four carp is associated with their feeding habits.     

Plasmid-mediated resistance to fosfomycin in Staphylococcus epidermidis

Staphylococcus epidermidis strain BM2641, isolated from a patient, was resistant to penicillin G, methicillin, aminoglycosides, chloramphenicol, macrolide, lincosamide and streptogramin B-type (MLS) antibiotics, and to high levels of fosmycin. Resistance to forsfomycin and/or to MLS was lost at low frequencies either spontaneously or after curing with novobiocin. The plasmid DNA from BM2641 and its cured derivatives was purified, analyzed by agarose gel electrophoresis and transferred to a nitrocellulose sheet. Comparative analysis of the resistance phenotypes with the plasmid content of the strains indicated that fosfomycin and MLS resistance were encoded by plasmids pIP1842 (2.5 kb) and pIP1843 (2.6 kb), respectively. Southern hybridization with a probe specific for gene fosA of Serratia marcescens showed that the fosfomycin resistance determinant in Staphylococcus is not homologous to that of Gram-negative bacteria.     

黑龙江桔梗科叶表皮研究

本文对分布在黑龙江省的桔梗料(Campanulaceae)植物叶表皮进行了光学显微镜和扫描电镜方面的观察。发现桔梗科植物的气孔复合体是不规则型的;毛状体是单细胞的,其表面的角质纹饰因类群而异;表皮角质纹饰可用于某些种间的鉴别。