Population attenuation in zooplankton communities during transoceanic transfer in ballast water

Successful biological invasion requires introduction of a viable population of a nonindigenous species (NIS). Rarely have ecologists assessed changes in populations while entrained in invasion pathways. Here, we investigate how zooplankton communities resident in ballast water change during transoceanic voyages. We used next‐generation sequencing technology to sequence a nuclear small subunit ribosomal DNA fragment of zooplankton from ballast water during initial, middle, and final segments as a vessel transited between Canada and Brazil. Operational taxonomic unit (OTU) diversity decreased as voyage duration increased, indicating loss of community‐based genetic diversity and development of bottlenecks for zooplankton taxa prior to discharge of ballast water. On average, we observed 47, 26, and 24 OTUs in initial, middle, and final samples, respectively. Moreover, a comparison of genetic diversity within taxa indicated likely attenuation of OTUs in final relative to initial samples. Abundance of the most common taxa (copepods) declined in all final relative to initial samples. Some taxa (e.g., Copepoda) were represented by a high number of OTUs throughout the voyage, and thus had a high level of intraspecific genetic variation. It is not clear whether genotypes that were most successful in surviving transit in ballast water will be the most successful upon introduction to novel environments. This study highlights that population bottlenecks may be common prior to introduction of NIS to new ecosystems.     

A Dual Tracer 18F-FCH/18F-FDG PET Imaging of an Orthotopic Brain Tumor Xenograft Model

Early diagnosis of low grade glioma has been a challenge to clinicians. Positron Emission Tomography (PET) using ¹⁸F-FDG as a radio-tracer has limited utility in this area because of the high background in normal brain tissue. Other radiotracers such as ¹⁸F-Fluorocholine (¹⁸F-FCH) could provide better contrast between tumor and normal brain tissue but with high incidence of false positives. In this study, the potential application of a dual tracer ¹⁸F-FCH/¹⁸F-FDG-PET is investigated in order to improve the sensitivity of PET imaging for low grade glioma diagnosis based on a mouse orthotopic xenograft model. BALB/c nude mice with and without orthotopic glioma xenografts from U87 MG-luc2 glioma cell line are used for the study. The animals are subjected to ¹⁸F-FCH and ¹⁸F-FDG PET imaging, and images acquired from two separate scans are superimposed for analysis. The ¹⁸F-FCH counts are subtracted from the merged images to identify the tumor. Micro-CT, bioluminescence imaging (BLI), histology and measurement of the tumor diameter are also conducted for comparison. Results show that there is a significant contrast in ¹⁸F-FCH uptake between tumor and normal brain tissue (2.65 ± 0.98), but with a high false positive rate of 28.6%. The difficulty of identifying the tumor by ¹⁸F-FDG only is also proved in this study. All the tumors can be detected based on the dual tracer technique of ¹⁸F-FCH/ ¹⁸F-FDG-PET imaging in this study, while the false-positive caused by ¹⁸F-FCH can be eliminated. Dual tracer ¹⁸F-FCH/¹⁸F-FDG PET imaging has the potential to improve the visualization of low grade glioma. ¹⁸F-FCH delineates tumor areas and the tumor can be identified by subtracting the ¹⁸F-FCH counts. The sensitivity was over 95%. Further studies are required to evaluate the possibility of applying this technique in clinical trials.     

Development of a sensitive molecular detection assay for mango malformation disease caused by <Emphasis Type="Italic">Fusarium mangiferae</Emphasis>

Objectives

To develop a sensitive and specific molecular assay for detection of mango malformation disease (MMD), which is caused primarily by Fusarium mangiferae.

Results

We screened 100 ISSR primers and identified one (UBC888) that directed the stable amplification of a specific gene fragment of 479 bp (GenBank accession number KJ526382). Based on the DNA sequence of this fragment, a pair of SCAR primers (W342 and W1772) were designed to amplify another gene fragment of 1376 bp (GenBank accession number KJ526383), demonstrating the successful conversion of an ISSR marker to a SCAR marker. An effective and simple detection assay for MMD was established based on this pair of PCR primers, with a high level of specificity and sensitivity to the DNA of F. mangiferae and other species of Fusarium both in vitro and in vivo. It can detect as little as 10 pg fungal DNA from the DNA of mango’s tissues.

Conclusions

Our assay provides a practical method for the early diagnosis so that proper prevention of the mango malformation disease can be developed.

     

cDNA Microarray Analysis Revealing Candidate Biomineralization Genes of the Pearl Oyster, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pinctada fucata martensii</Emphasis>

Biomineralization is a common biological phenomenon resulting in strong tissue, such as bone, tooth, and shell. Pinctada fucata martensii is an ideal animal for the study of biomineralization. Here, microarray technique was used to identify biomineralization gene in mantle edge (ME), mantle center (MC), and both ME and MC (ME-MC) for this pearl oyster. Results revealed that 804, 306, and 1127 contigs expressed at least three times higher in ME, MC, and ME-MC as those in other tissues. Blast against non-redundant database showed that 130 contigs (16.17 %), 53 contigs (17.32 %), and 248 contigs (22.01 %) hit reference genes (E?≤??10), among which 91 contigs, 48 contigs, and 168 contigs could be assigned to 32, 26, and 63 biomineralization genes in tissue of ME, MC, and ME-MC at a threshold of 3 times upregulated expression level. The ratios of biomineralization contigs to homologous contigs were similar at 3 times, 10 times, and 100 times of upregulated expression level in either ME, MC, or ME-MC. Moreover, the ratio of biomineralization contigs was highest in MC. Although mRNA distribution characters were similar to those in other studies for eight biomineralization genes of PFMG3, Pif, nacrein, MSI7, mantle gene 6, Pfty1, prismin, and the shematrin, most biomineralization genes presented different expression profiles from existing reports. These results provided massive fundamental information for further study of biomineralization gene function, and it may be helpful for revealing gene nets of biomineralization and the molecular mechanisms underlining formation of shell and pearl for the oyster.     

Adsorption of heavy metal from aqueous solution by dehydrated root powder of long-root Eichhornia crassipes

The root powder of long-root Eichhornia crassipes, as a new kind of biodegradable adsorbent, has been tested for aqueous adsorption of Pb, Zn, Cu, and Cd. From FT-IR, we found that the absorption peaks of phosphorous compounds, carbonyl, and nitrogenous compounds displayed obvious changes before and after adsorption which illustrated that plant characteristics may play a role in binding with metals. Surface properties and morphology of the root powders have been characterized by means of SEM and BET. Energy spectrum analysis showed that the metals were adsorbed on root powders after adsorption. Then, optimum quantity of powder, pH values, and metal ion concentrations in single-system and multi-system were detected to discuss the characteristics and mechanisms of metal adsorption. Freundlich model and the second-order kinetics equation could well describe the adsorption of heavy metals in single-metal system. The adsorption of Pb, Zn, and Cd in the multi-metal system decreased with the concentration increased. At last, competitive adsorption of every two metals on root powder proved that Cu and Pb had suppressed the adsorption performance of Cd and Zn.     

Green synthesis of fluorescence carbon nanoparticles from yum and application in sensitive and selective detection of ATP

Fluorescent carbon nanoparticles (CPs), a fascinating class of recently discovered nanocarbons, have been widely known as some of the most promising sensing probes in biological or chemical analysis. In this study, we demonstrate a green synthetic methodology for generating water‐soluble CPs with a quantum yield of approximately 24% via a simple heating process using yum mucilage as a carbon source. The prepared carbon nanoparticles with an ~10 nm size possessed excellent fluorescence properties, and the fluorescence of the CPs was strongly quenched by Fe³⁺, and recovered by adenosine triphosphate (ATP), thus, an ‘off’ and ‘on’ system can be easily established. This ‘CPs‐Fe³⁺‐ATP’ strategy was sensitive and selective at detecting ATP with the linear range of 0.5 µmol L^?1 to 50 µmol L^?1 and with a detection limit of 0.48 µmol L^?1. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.