The Regulation of Homopolar Doublets to Singlets in Glaucoma

ABSTRACT. In the ciliate Glaucoma scintillans , the process of transformation of unbalanced homopolar doublets to singlets was investigated. Cells were fixed 1–3 days after inoculation and impregnated with silver according to the Chatton-Lwoff technique. The two oral apparatuses (OAs) approached each other partly due to a loss of ciliary rows in one of the two components (semicells) consisting of a doublet. The contractile vacuole pore (CVP) in the narrow semicell (sc1) was lost at an early stage of regulation, while the position of CVP in the broad semicell (sc2) shifted toward the right after the loss of sc1. The sc1 of 20 row-intervals in breadth was a transition point above which the sc1 was able to persist for awhile, and beneath which it was actively lost. There was no evidence for an independent effect of sc2 on the transformation of doublets to singlets. In cell division, an additional reversed oral primordium (sOP) was formed in unbalanced doublets, usually within a narrow sc1 of 11–20 row-intervals. The position of the sOP was generally 4–6 row-intervals distant from the right side of the oral meridian (OM1) with the cell's left OA. Most of the doublets with an sOP lacked an oral primordium in the OM1. No mature triplet with 2 normal OAs and an abnormal OA was found in these preparations. The pathway of regulation, the movement of the CVP, and the formation of an sOP are discussed.     

Identification and Properties of Plateins,Major Proteins in the Cortical Alveolar Plates of Euplotes1

Morphogenesis of the ciliate cortex has been viewed as an attractive model system for studying the mechanisms behind the ordered assembly of subcellular structure. Based on the assumption that identifying protein components of the cortex would facilitate the study of cortical assembly, I have produced a number of monoclonal antibodies directed against components of the cortex of Euplotes aediculatus. Several of these antibodies react with the proteins comprising the alveolar plates. These thin polygonal scales, each enclosed within a flattened membranous sac (alveolus) just beneath the cell membrane, tightly abut in a confluent monolayer that appears to lend form and rigidity to the Euplotes cell cortex. Reactivity and specificity of these monoclonal antibodies for the alveolar plates was shown by immunofluorescence staining of whole-cell preparations and of cryosections, and by immuno-gold staining of thin sections by electron microscopy. On immunoblots of SDS-PAGE separated whole-cell extracts, the plate proteins are revealed as two to three closely spaced bands centered at an M_r of 97 kDa, and a larger relative at 125 kDa. Comparative peptide mapping reveals that the members of the 97-kDa protein cluster are closely related. However, the 125-kDa polypeptide varies significantly from the 97-kDa members, and hence is not likely a synthetic precursor. Because bands of these M_r values are prominent in Coomassie blue-stained gels of whole-cell extracts, and are greatly enriched in purified cortical preparations, they likely represent the major proteins comprising the alveolar plates of E. aediculatus. I have proposed the name platein for this family of proteins.     

五株纤毛虫遗传关系的ISSR分析

采用ISSR分子标记技术,尝试对四种五株纤毛虫(褶累枝虫(Epistylis plicatilis)、绿草履虫(Paramecium bursaria)、多态喇叭虫(Stentor polymorphus)、嗜热四膜虫BF1株(Tetrahymena thermophilaBF1)和嗜热四膜虫BF5株(T.ther-mophilaBF5))进行遗传关系研究。用13个ISSR引物对五株纤毛虫进行扩增,六个ISSR引物获得多态片段。根据Nei s遗传距离矩阵构建了五株纤毛虫的遗传关系树状图。UPGMA,NJ聚类图表明:两株嗜热四膜虫最先聚在一起;其次是褶累枝虫和多态喇叭虫聚在一起,然后再与嗜热四膜虫聚在一起;咽膜亚纲的绿草履虫形成独立的一枝。结果显示:①缘毛亚纲纤毛虫可能是寡膜纲中较独特的一个类群,建议提升缘毛亚纲纤毛虫的分类地位;②缘毛亚纲褶累枝虫与膜口亚纲嗜热四膜虫的亲缘关系近于咽膜亚纲绿草履虫,在寡膜纲中绿草履虫处于原始地位;③五株纤毛虫基因组中均含有微卫星DNA序列:(GTG)4(、GACA)4(、AG)8(、CAA)6和(GAA)6。     

Identification and partial characterization of cAMP-phosphodiesterases in the ciliate Euplotes raikovi

In the ciliate Euplotes raikovi, two specific isoforms of cAMP-dependent phosphodiesterases were identified, one in the soluble and the other in the particulate fraction of the cell. Their activity was shown to be stimulated by Mg²⁺, insensitive to Ca²⁺ and cGMP, and scarcely inhibited by theophylline and 3-isobutyl-1-methyl-xanthine. They appear to be related to some phosphodiesterases of class II of other unicellular organisms in their biochemical features, and their enzymatic activity is up-regulated by elevation of intracellular cAMP level similarly to PDE-4 isoforms of mammals.     

Tintinnophagus acutus n. g., n. sp. (Phylum Dinoflagellata), an Ectoparasite of the Ciliate Tintinnopsis cylindrica Daday 1887, and Its Relationship to Duboscquodinium collini Grassé 1952

ABSTRACT. The dinoflagellate Tintinnophagus acutus n. g., n. sp., an ectoparasite of the ciliate Tintinnopsis cylindrica Daday, superficially resembles Duboscquodinium collini Grassé, a parasite of Eutintinnus fraknoii Daday. Dinospores of T. acutus are small transparent cells having a sharply pointed episome, conspicuous eyespot, posteriorly positioned nucleus with condensed chromosomes, and rigid form that may be supported by delicate thecal plates. Dinospores attach to the host via a feeding tube, losing their flagella, sulcus, and girdle to become spherical or ovoid cells. The trophont of T. acutus feeds on the host for several days, increasing dramatically in size before undergoing sporogenesis. Successive generations of daughter sporocytes are encompassed in an outer membrane or cyst wall, a feature not evident in trophonts. Tintinnophagus acutus differs from D. collini in host species, absence of a second membrane surrounding pre‐sporogenic stages, and failure to differentiate into a gonocyte and a trophocyte at the first sporogenic division. Phylogenetic analyses based on small subunit (SSU) ribosomal DNA (rDNA) sequences placed T. acutus and D. collini in the class Dinophyceae, with T. acutus aligned loosely with Pfiesteria piscicida and related species, including Amyloodinium ocellatum, a parasite of fish, and Paulsenella vonstoschii, a parasite of diatoms. Dubosquodinium collini nested in a clade composed of several Scrippsiella species and Peridinium polonicum. Tree construction using longer rDNA sequences (i.e. SSU through partial large subunit) strengthened the placement of T. acutus and D. collini within the Dinophyceae.     

纤毛虫分子系统发育学的研究进展

在回顾纤毛虫分子系统发育学产生发展历史的基础上,介绍了随着20年中RFLP、RAPD和DNA序列分析等分子生物学技术作为该学科的主要研究方法在种群遗传多样性与进化、种上阶元系统发育学两方面取得的研究成果和近期研究进展,最后在探讨纤毛虫分子系统发育学存在的一些问题和解决方法的同时,预测了纤毛虫分子系统发育学今后将极大地推动真核生物的起源与进化,内共生等重要生物进化问题的研究。     

First records of Ambiphrya and Vorticella spp. (Protozoa,Ciliophora) in cultured Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) in the central region of Saudi Arabia

The present study was carried out as part of an ongoing general survey seeking to uncover protozoan parasites infecting cultured tilapia in the central region of Saudi Arabia. In the sample of 400 specimens of tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) 30 were infested with Ambiphrya ameiuri simultaneously with Vorticella sp. Morphometric criteria were used to describe and identify these species and this study presents the first records of these species among cultured fish in Saudi Arabia.     

念珠伪角毛虫小核体功能初步研究

为了研究念珠伪角毛虫的小核是否具有及具有怎样的体功能,采用显微切割手术去小核并建立无小核细胞系。经蛋白银染色鉴定,无小核细胞系群体中大多数细胞的形态结构存在缺陷：口围带的部分小膜缺损或排列紊乱,大核的数目和形态也不正常。这表明,念珠伪角毛虫的小核对于保持口围带结构的完整性以及大核的数目和形态结构的稳定性起着明确的作用。     

纤毛虫在进化过程中的特异性

介绍了纤毛虫在进化过程中形成的特异性。其中包括核器二型性、大核发育、大核基因的结构特点、密码子不通用性、细胞周期差异性和组蛋白特异性。追踪报道了纤毛虫小核体功能研究、密码子研究的最新进展。