Ethics in a bicultural context -- a report from New Zealand

The distinctiveness of Bioethics in New Zealand stems in part from a renewal of emphasis on Maori rights, based on the Treaty of Waitangi, the foundation document of the New Zealand state. Increasingly, committees dealing with health research ethics and with the ethics of assisted reproductive technology have to incorporate Maori values and perspectives.     

The New Zealand Thrush: an extinct oriole

The New Zealand Thrush, or Piopio, is an extinct passerine that was endemic to New Zealand. It has often been placed in its own family (Turnagridae), unresolved relative to other passerines, but affinities with thrushes, Australaian magpies, manucodes, whistlers, birds-of-paradise and bowerbirds has been suggested based on morphological data. An affinity with the bowerbirds was also indicated in an early molecular study, but low statistical support make this association uncertain. In this study we use sequence data from three nuclear introns to examine the phylogenetic relationships of the piopios. All three genes independently indicate an oriole (Oriolidae) affinity of the piopios, and the monophyly of the typical orioles (Oriolus), figbirds (Sphecotheres), and the piopios is strongly supported in the Bayesian analysis of the concatenated data set (posterior probability = 1.0). The exact placement of the piopios within Oriolidae is, however, more uncertain but in the combined analysis and in two of the gene trees the piopios are placed basal to the typical orioles while the third gene suggest a sister relationship with the figbirds. This is the first time an oriole affinity has been proposed for the piopios. Divergence time estimates for the orioles suggest that the clade originated ca 20 million years ago, and based on these estimates it is evident that the piopios must have arrived on New Zealand by dispersal across the Tasman Sea and not as a result of vicariance when New Zealand separated from Gondwana in the late Cretaceous.     

Endolithic Phototrophs from an Active Geothermal Region in New Zealand

Endolithic photosynthetic communities in geothermal siliceous rocks in the area of Rotorua, New Zealand, were analysed using traditional microbiological and molecular biology techniques. Rock surface temperatures varied between 40°C and 60°C. Major endoliths included cyanobacteria of subsections I, II and V. Few subsection IV organisms were found and subsection III (filamentous, non-heterocystous) cyanobacteria were present only as epiliths or chasmoendoliths. Therefore, the endolithic cyanobacterial communities in these sites resembled assemblages as reported for carbonate rocks in other geothermal regions. Cells of the rhodophyte family Cyanidiaceae were detected within rock at various sites. Some of these phototrophic organisms were associated with mineral (presumably silica) deposits and could be important geological agents in siliceous rock deposition.     

A new Cheilolejeunea Marchantiopsida: Lejeuneaceae from montane forests in New Zealand

Abstract

Cheilolejeunea celata M.Renner & Glenny sp. nov., a minute species from high elevation (generally >600 m), high rainfall forests on the wetter, western side of New Zealand, is described and illustrated. It is similar to Cheilolejeunea novaezelandiae R.M. Schust. in its dome-shaped papillae on the lobe surface and its autoicous state, but differs in bearing papillae over the entire lobe surface and on the underleaves, in having narrower underleaves that are never imbricate and have a narrow sinus, and in growing primarily in forest, on the stems of other bryophyte species. In its combination of oblique lobes, strongly inflated keel, and bifid underleaves, the species provides further support for the recent merger of Cyrtolejeunea into Cheilolejeunea.     

A new genus of freshwater hoplonemertean from New Zealand

Potamonemertes percivali , a new freshwater hoplonemertean from the Selwyn River, New Zealand, is described. It is more closely related to the antipodean prosorhochmid supralittoral and terrestrial genera Acteonemertes and Geonemertes than to the only other freshwater hoplonemertean genus Prostoma,* but possesses a distinctive combination of characters which establish it as a new genus and species.     

New foliicolous lichens from New Zealand 3

Podotara gen. nov. (incertae sedis) is described. It is based on the foliicolous taxonP. pilophoriformis sp.nov., which is described and illustrated. Characteristic of the new genus and species are globose and stipitate apothecia and 3-septate, hyaline, thin-walled ascospores with annular thickening of the septa.Scoliciosporum lividum sp. nov. (Scoliciosporaceae) differs from all species of its genus known to date by its leprose grey thallus, its livid, globose, dull apothecia, and its 3-septate ascosoores spirally contorted in the ascus.     

New foliicolous lichens from New Zealand 1

Three species and one genus of theTrichotheliaceae are described as new and illustrated.Polycornum rubrofuscum gen. and sp. nov. is related to the generaPorina andTrichothelium, but differs in having complex horn-like appendages growing from the entire surface of its perithecia, giving them a tomentose appearance.Trichothelium rubellum is characterized by red or brown perithecia and 5–7 white membranaceous setae arranged in a star pattern around the ostiole.Trichothelium nanum is characterized by 3-septate spores, small black perithecia, and white setae.     

New cavernicolous cixiid from New Zealand (Homoptera: Fulgoroidea)

Confuga persephone n.gen. & sp. (Cixiidae) is described from a cavernicolous population in Nelson Province, New Zealand. Most of its generic characters can be matched separately in other endemic genera, but it appears not to be closely related to any one of them. Malpha duniana Myers is transferred to Aka White.     

Ochratoxin A and citrinin nephrotoxicity in New Zealand White rabbits: an ultrastructural assessment

In the present investigation, ochratoxin A (OTA) (0.75 mg/kg feed) and citrinin (CIT) (15 mg/kg feed) were fed alone and in combination to young growing New Zealand White rabbits for 60 days to evaluate renal ultrastructural alterations. The severity and intensity of renal ultrastructural changes varied with the type of the treatment, and predominant and consistent lesions were recorded in the proximal convoluted tubule (PCT) lining cells. The significant changes in mitochondria, the most affected cell organelle in all the treatment groups, included mitochondrial disintegration and distortion, pleomorphism, cluster formation and misshapen appearance such as signet ring, dumbbell, cup and U shapes. Intra-cisternal sequestrations of involuting mitochondria, and thickening of basal layer of PCT epithelial cells with partial detachment, were the characteristic features observed in OTA and combination treatments. CIT treatment revealed crenated nucleus, loss of nucleolus, depletion of cytoplasmic organelles, mitochondrial pleomorphism, nuclear fragmentation, uniform folding of cell membrane and cytoplasmic vacuolations in the PCTs. Focal thickening of the glomerular basement membrane and degeneration of endothelial cells were the prominent alterations in the glomeruli in OTA and combination treatments. Distal convoluted tubules were unaffected in CIT treatment, however, mild to moderate lesions were observed in OTA and combination treated rabbits. It may be concluded that on simultaneous exposure, CIT potentiated the toxic effects of OTA on renal ultrastructure. Part of M.V.Sc thesis research work of first author, Deemed University, Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar-243 122 (U. P.), India.     

Some new micromycetes from New Zealand

New collections of micromycetes from New Zealand are recorded, including several new species and a new variety of the genera Cercospora, Entylomella, Gonatophragmium, Pseudocercospora, Ramularia and Subramaniomyces as well as some new combinations and a new name. Based on a new generic concept of the Pseudocercospora/Cercostigmina complex, which is supported by new molecular examinations, all species of Cercostigmina are re-allocated to Pseudocercospora.     

Ammonia-Hyperproducing Bacteria from New Zealand Ruminants

Pasture-grazed dairy cows, deer, and sheep were tested for the presence of ammonia-hyperproducing (HAP) bacteria in roll tubes containing a medium in which tryptone and Casamino Acids were the sole nitrogen and energy sources. Colonies able to grow on this medium represented 5.2, 1.3, and 11.6% of the total bacterial counts of dairy cows, deer, and sheep, respectively. A total of 14 morphologically distinct colonies were purified and studied further. Restriction fragment length polymorphisms of 16S rRNA genes indicated that all isolates differed from the previously described HAP bacteria, Clostridium aminophilum, Clostridium sticklandii, and Peptostreptococcus anaerobius. Carbon source utilization experiments showed that five isolates (C2, D1, D4, D5, and S1) were unable to use any, or very few, of the carbon sources tested. Biochemical tests and phylogenetic analyses of 16S ribosomal DNA sequences indicated that all isolates were monensin sensitive; that D1 and S1 belonged to the genus Peptostreptococcus, that D4 and D5 belonged to the family Bacteroidaceae, where D4 was similar to Fusobacterium necrophorum; and that C2 was most similar to an unidentified species from the genus Eubacterium. Growth on liquid medium containing tryptone and Casamino Acids as the sole nitrogen and energy source showed that D1, D4, and S1 grew rapidly (specific growth rates of 0.40, 0.35, and 0.29 h⁻¹, respectively), while C2 and D5 were slow growers (0.25 and 0.10 h⁻¹, respectively). Ammonia production rates were highest in D1 and D4, which produced 945.5 and 748.3 nmol/min per mg of protein, respectively. Tests of individual nitrogen sources indicated that D1 and D4 grew best on tryptone, S1 grew equally well on Casamino Acids or tryptone, and C2 and D5 grew poorly on all nitrogen sources. The intact proteins casein and gelatin did not support significant growth of any of the isolates. These isolates extend the diversity of known HAP rumen bacteria and indicate the presence of significant HAP bacterial populations in pasture-grazed New Zealand ruminants.