Teixeiria lusitanica, a new fossil flower from the Early Cretaceous of Portugal with affinities to Ranunculales

A charcoalified fossil flower bud of a new genus and species (Teixeiria lusitanica) is described from the Early Cretaceous of Portugal. The flower is actinomorphic and unisexually male. At the base of the bud there are several bracts of different sizes, which are followed by sepal-like and petal-like tepals. Bracts and perianth organs seem to be arranged spirally and to exhibit transitions between different organ categories. The androecium has numerous stamens in two sizes, but with unclear arrangement. Pollen is small and tricolpate with a perforate tectum and a densely columellate infratectal layer. No carpels or remains of carpels could be observed on the floral axis. Teixeiria lusitanica shows most affinities to members of Ranunculales. There are also some similarities with Berberidopsis (Berberidopsidaceae, Berberidopsidales) and members of the Saxifragales (Hamamelidaceae and Daphniphyllaceae).     

A review of malaria vaccine clinical projects based on the WHO rainbow table

Development and Phase 3 testing of the most advanced malaria vaccine, RTS,S/AS01, indicates that malaria vaccine R&D is moving into a new phase. Field trials of several research malaria vaccines have also confirmed that it is possible to impact the host-parasite relationship through vaccine-induced immune responses to multiple antigenic targets using different platforms. Other approaches have been appropriately tested but turned out to be disappointing after clinical evaluation. As the malaria community considers the potential role of a first-generation malaria vaccine in malaria control efforts, it is an apposite time to carefully document terminated and ongoing malaria vaccine research projects so that lessons learned can be applied to increase the chances of success for second-generation malaria vaccines over the next 10 years. The most comprehensive resource of malaria vaccine projects is a spreadsheet compiled by WHO thanks to the input from funding agencies, sponsors and investigators worldwide. This spreadsheet, available from WHO's website, is known as "the rainbow table". By summarizing the published and some unpublished information available for each project on the rainbow table, the most comprehensive review of malaria vaccine projects to be published in the last several years is provided below.     

Functional asymmetry of the F0 motor in bacterial ATP synthases

F₁F₀ ATP synthases use the electrochemical potential of H⁺ or Na⁺ across biological membranes to synthesize ATP by a rotary mechanism. In bacteria, the enzymes can act in reverse as ATP-driven ion pumps creating the indispensable membrane potential. Here, we demonstrate that the F₀ parts of a Na⁺- and H⁺-dependent enzyme display major asymmetries with respect to their mode of operation, reflected by the requirement of ∼100 times higher Na⁺ or H⁺ concentrations for the synthesis compared with the hydrolysis of ATP. A similar asymmetry is observed during ion transport through isolated F₀ parts, indicating different affinities for the binding sites in the a/c interface. Together with further data, we propose a model that provides a rationale for a differential usage of membrane potential and ion gradient during ATP synthesis as observed experimentally. The functional asymmetry might also reflect an important property of the ATP synthesis mechanism in vivo . In Escherichia coli , we observed respiratory chain-driven ATP production at pH 7–8, while P -site pH values < 6.5 were required for ATP synthesis in vitro . This discrepancy is discussed with respect to the hypothesis that during respiration lateral proton diffusion could lead to significant acidification at the membrane surface.     

Depicting the Spatial Distribution of Proteins in Human Tumor Tissue Combining SELDI and MALDI Imaging and Immunohistochemistry

Carcinoma tissue consists of not only tumor cells but also fibroblasts, endothelial cells or vascular structures, and inflammatory cells forming the supportive tumor stroma. Therefore, the spatial distribution of proteins that promote growth and proliferation in these complex functional units is of high interest. Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization imaging mass spectrometry is a newly developed technique that generates spatially resolved profiles of protein signals directly from thin tissue sections. Surface-enhanced laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MS)combined with tissue microdissection allows analysis of defined parts of the tissue with a higher sensitivity and a broader mass range. Nevertheless, both MS-based techniques have a limited spatial resolution. IHC is a technique that allows a resolution down to the subcellular level. However, the detection and measurement of a specific protein expression level is possible only by semiquantitative methods. Moreover, prior knowledge about the identity of the proteins of interest is necessary. In this study, we combined all three techniques to gain highest spatial resolution, sensitivity, and quantitative information. We used frozen tissue from head and neck tumors and chose two exemplary proteins (HNP1–3 and S100A8) to highlight the advantages and disadvantages of each technique. It could be shown that the combination of these three techniques results in congruent but also synergetic data. (J Histochem Cytochem 58:929–937, 2010)     

From the Schnauzenorgan to the back: Morphological comparison of mormyromast electroreceptor organs at different skin regions of Gnathonemus petersii

The nocturnally active weakly electric fish Gnathonemus petersii is known to employ active electrolocation for the detection of objects and for orientation in its environment. The fish emits pulse‐type electric signals with an electric organ and perceives these signals with more than 3,000 epidermal electroreceptor organs, the mormyromasts, which are distributed over the animal's skin surface. In this study, we measured the metric dimensions of the mormyromasts from different body regions to find structural and functional specialization of the various body parts. We focused on the two foveal regions of G. petersii, which are located at the elongated and movable chin (the Schnauzenorgan; SO) and at the nasal region (NR), the skin region between the mouth and the nares. These two foveal regions were compared to the dorsal part (back) of the fish, which contains typical nonfoveal mormyromasts. While the gross anatomy of the mormyromasts from all skin regions is similar, the metric dimensions of the main substructures differed. The mormyromasts at the SO are the smallest and contain the smallest receptor cells. In addition, the number of receptor cells per organ is lowest at the SO. In contrast, at the back the biggest receptor organs with the highest amount of receptor cells per organ occur. The mormyromasts at the NR are in several respects intermediate between those from the back and the SO. However, mormyromasts at the NR are longer than those at all other skin regions, the canal leading from the receptor pore to the inner chambers were the longest and the overlaying epidermal layers are the thickest. These results show that mormyromasts and the epidermis they are embedded in at both foveal regions differ specifically from those found on the rest of the body. The morphological specializations lead to functional specialization of the two foveae. J. Morphol., 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.