The intraspecific differentiation of the burrow tick Ixodes crenulatus (Ixodidae)

In four extensive disjunct areas of the distribution range of Ixodes crenulatus Koch, 1844 complexes of samples in 8 locations, and separate samples in two locations have been studied (fig.). Morphological characters (sizes of organs of idiosome, gnathostoma, legs, as well as some proportions of organs), which show statistically significant differences between complexes of samples on all corresponding stages of ontogenesis were revealed (tabl. 1, 2). Statistically significant differences were determined by Student's criterion (table. 3, 4). We use the term "transit" characters to denote these characters if they have to addition a similar tendency at all stages of ontogenesis. Complexes of samples showing statistically significant differences of transit characters are considered by us as morphotypes. Apparently these differences of morphotypes were formed evolutionally. In European disjunct area morphotypes divided into two groups on the basis of the degree of differences: western (A, B), and eastern (C, D, E). Degree of differences of morphotypes within each group is low, whereas one between of these two groups is high and corresponds to differences of morphotypes A, B from all Asian morphotypes (F, G, H, I, J), and of morphotypes C, D, E from Asian ones in mountain disjunct areas I. crenulatus (G, H, I, J). At the same time Eastern-European complex of morphotypes (C, D, E) is morphologically similar to the morphotype from north Kazakhstan disjunct area (F). All Asian morphotypes have high degree of differences one from the other. Species of the genus Marmota are initial hosts of I. crenulatus, they retain the main role as hosts in Eastern-European and Asian morphotypes: C, D, E, F--M. bobac bobac (Muller, 1776), G--M. baibacina centralis (Thomas, 1909), I, J--M. sibirica sibirica (Radde, 1862). The most aberrant in all characters morphotypes are the ones inhabiting European areas (A, B), where marmots are exterminated. These morphotypes parasitize on hibernating carnivores.     

Genetic differences among three colour morphotypes of the black rockfish,Sebastes inermis,inferred from mtDNA and AFLP analyses

The genetic differences among three colour morphotypes of the black rockish, Sebastes inermis, were determined from mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLP) analyses. In the AFLP analysis, each morphotype could be distinguished by the presence or absence matrix of five AFLP loci. These diagnostic loci indicated that the three morphotypes represented independent gene pools, indicating reproductive isolation. Furthermore, 14 significant frequency differences in AFLP fragments were observed between morphotypes A and B, 12 between morphotypes A and C and six between morphotypes B and C. These significant differences also supported the likelihood of reproductive isolation among the morphotypes. In the mtDNA analysis, variations in partial sequences of the control region failed to distinguish clearly between the three morphotypes, but restrictions of gene flow and genetic differentiation among the morphotypes were supported by significant FST estimates. The absence of diagnostic mtDNA differences in this study may have been due to introgressive hybridization among the morphotypes and/or incomplete lineage sorting, due to the recency of speciation.     

Morphological differences among three color morphotypes of Sebastes inermis (Scorpaenidae)

 Morphological differences among three color morphotypes occurring almost sympatrically (A, reddish type; B, blackish type; C, brownish type) of Sebastes inermis are clarified. Twenty-six morphometric characters and seven meristic characters were examined on about 20 specimens of each morphotype, 15 of the morphometric characters differing significantly. Principal component analysis (PCA) of the morphometric characters showed morphotype C to differ from the other two morphotypes. Canonical discriminant analysis (CDA) of the morphometric characters showed clear separation of each morphotype. Four meristic characters also differed significantly. Modes of pectoral fin ray counts of morphotypes A, B, and C were 15, 16, and 17, respectively, and the modes of anal fin ray counts of morphotypes B and C were 7 and 8, respectively. Many individuals of morphotype A had seven or eight anal fin rays. These differences suggested that the three morphotypes may be reproductively isolated from each other. Received: October 15, 2001 / Revised: March 14, 2002 / Accepted: April 9, 2002     

Thermal-death times of opaque and translucent morphotypes of Vibrio vulnificus.

Thermal-death times were determined for Vibrio vulnificus strains with different morphotypes. Opaque strains showed higher D values (times required to reduce the viable population of a given strain by 90%) than translucent strains. Z values (absolute values of the temperature required to reduce 1 log scale of D values) were also significantly higher in opaque morphotypes (2.4 to 2.5 degrees C) than in translucent ones (1.7 to 2.1 degrees C). These results indicate that the morphotype is related to the organism's susceptibility to heat.     

The chrysophycean paleocyst flora of the bottom sediments of Kortowskie Lake (Poland) and its ecological significance

The postglacial sediments of Kortowskie Lake contain well preserved chrysophycean cysts. Forty-six morphotypes were identified by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and light microscopy (LM). Ten new morphotypes of fossil chrysophycean cysts are described. Some of the most abundant taxa show clear trends associated with the increase in lake trophic status. The cyst flora is divided into four groups: eutrophic forms (Cysta globata, C. cortoviensis, C. vermicularis); oligotrophic forms (Cysta curvicollis); cool-water forms (Cysta carinifera, C. crassicollis, C. microspinosa, C. modica and Cysta stellata), and indifferent forms (all other morphotypes which did not show a clear tendency). The percentage abundance of chrysophycean cysts wa related to climate changes, showing a considerable increase during the Subboreal period. Two factors, lake fertility and water level changes affected the abundance of the fossil cyst flora in the sediments of Kortowskie Lake.     

Difference in antifungal activity of morphotypes of clavicipitaceous endophytes within and between species

In a previous study, a total of 484 endophytic fungi were isolated and purified from seven populations of Achnatherum sibiricum (L.) Keng collected at six geographical locations in Inner Mongolia, China. Based on growth rates as well as morphological characteristics, the isolates were classified into five morphotypes. Among them, morphotypes A, B and C were ascribed to the same species, Neotyphodium chisosum, based on ITS sequences. Morphotype E was identified as Epichlo? amarillans. In the present study, four morphotypes, A, B, C and E, belonging to two species, were chosen for an in vitro pathogen trial. The results showed that both endophyte colonies and endophyte filtrate of all morphotypes could inhibit the mycelia growth and spore germination of the pathogen fungi tested. The magnitude of inhibition varied not only between species, but also among morphotypes of the same species. Overall, the antifungal ability of E. amarillans (morphotype E) was higher than that of N. chisosum. Within N. chisosum, the antifungal ability was highest in morphotype C, followed by morphotype A, and lowest in morphotype B. This variability suggests that different morphotypes might represent different genotypes of endophyte. The effect of endophyte infection on the host grass should be examined not only on the species level but also on the morphotype level to determine the possible interactions.     

Difference in antifungal activity of morphotypes of clavicipitaceous endophytes within and between species

In a previous study, a total of 484 endophytic fungi were isolated and purified from seven populations of Achnatherum sibiricum (L.) Keng collected at six geographical locations in Inner Mongolia, China. Based on growth rates as well as morphological characteristics, the isolates were classified into five morphotypes. Among them, morphotypes A, B and C were ascribed to the same species, Neotyphodium chisosum, based on ITS sequences. Morphotype E was identified as Epichloë amarillans. In the present study, four morphotypes, A, B, C and E, belonging to two species, were chosen for an in vitro pathogen trial. The results showed that both endophyte colonies and endophyte filtrate of all morphotypes could inhibit the mycelia growth and spore germination of the pathogen fungi tested. The magnitude of inhibition varied not only between species, but also among morphotypes of the same species. Overall, the antifungal ability of E. amarillans (morphotype E) was higher than that of N. chisosum. Within N. chisosum, the antifungal ability was highest in morphotype C, followed by morphotype A, and lowest in morphotype B. This variability suggests that different morphotypes might represent different genotypes of endophyte. The effect of endophyte infection on the host grass should be examined not only on the species level but also on the morphotype level to determine the possible interactions.     

Differences in frost hardiness of two Norway spruce morphotypes growing at Mt. Brocken, Germany

Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) exhibits strong ecotypic variation along altitudinal gradients in morphological traits, e.g. slenderness of crowns or arrangement of second-order branches. We were interested whether montane and lowland morphotypes differ in a key trait for the survival in cold environments, i.e. frost hardiness, and asked: (i) are montane morphotypes more resistant to frost damage and (ii) do they have a lower risk of frost damage by late frosts in spring than lowland morphotypes?We used the electrolyte leakage-method to measure frost hardiness on a monthly basis from October 2006 to May 2007 in stands of the montane and lowland morphotypes at Mt. Brocken in the Harz Mountains, Germany.LT₅₀ (i.e. the temperature that results in 50% of maximum electrolyte leakage) was assessed by freezing treatments in a frost chamber and was significantly influenced by morphotype, month and minimum ambient temperatures. LT₅₀ was significantly lower in the montane than in the lowland morphotype, with −107 °C and −49 °C, respectively. However, the interactions between morphotype with minimum ambient temperature or month were not significant. Thus, as frost hardiness of the two morphotypes responded to temperature in the same way, both morphotypes can be supposed to be exposed to the same risk of frost damage during hardening in autumn and dehardening in spring.     

PHOTOSYNTHETIC PIGMENT AND GENETIC DIFFERENCES BETWEEN TWO SOUTHERN OCEAN MORPHOTYPES OF EMILIANIA HUXLEYI (HAPTOPHYTA)1

The widespread coccolithophorid Emiliania huxleyi (Lohmann) W. W. Hay et H. Mohler plays a pivotal role in the carbon pump and is known to exhibit significant morphological, genetic, and physiological diversity. In this study, we compared photosynthetic pigments and morphology of triplicate strains of Southern Ocean types A and B/C. The two morphotypes differed in width of coccolith distal shield elements (0.11–0.24 μm, type A; 0.06–0.12 μm, type B/C) and morphology of distal shield central area (grill of curved rods in type A; thin plain plate in type B/C) and showed differences in carotenoid composition. The mean 19′‐hexanoyloxyfucoxanthin (Hex):chl a ratio in type B/C was >1, whereas the type A ratio was <1. The Hex:fucoxanthin (fuc) ratio for type B/C was 11 times greater than that for type A, and the proportion of fuc in type A was 6 times higher than that in type B/C. The fuc derivative 4‐keto‐19′‐hexanoyloxyfucoxanthin (4‐keto‐hex) was present in type A but undetected in B/C. DNA sequencing of tufA distinguished morphotypes A, B/C (indistinguishable from B), and R, while little variation was observed within morphotypes. Thirty single nucleotide polymorphisms were identified in the 710 bp tufA sequence, of which 10 alleles were unique to B/C and B morphotypes, seven alleles were unique to type A, and six alleles were unique to type R. We propose that the morphologically, physiologically, and genetically distinct Southern Ocean type B/C sensu Young et al. (2003) be classified as E. huxleyi var. aurorae var. nov. S. S. Cook et Hallegr.     

Raphidiopsis mediterranea Skuja represents non-heterocytous life-cycle stages of Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii (Woloszynska) Seenayya et Subba Raju in Lake Kastoria (Greece), its type locality: Evidence by morphological and phylogenetic analysis

The taxonomical relationship of Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii and Raphidiopsis mediterranea was studied by morphological and 16S rRNA gene diversity analyses of natural populations from Lake Kastoria, Greece. Samples were obtained during a bloom (23,830 trichomes mL⁻¹) in August 2003. A high diversity of apical cell, trichome, heterocyte and akinete morphology, trichome fragmentation and reproduction was observed. Trichomes were grouped into three dominant morphotypes: the typical and the non-heterocytous morphotype of C. raciborskii and the typical morphotype of R. mediterranea. A morphometric comparison of the dominant morphotypes showed significant differences in mean values of cell and trichome sizes despite the high overlap in the range of the respective size values. Additionally, two new morphotypes representing developmental stages of the species are described while a new mode of reproduction involving a structurally distinct reproductive cell is described for the first time in planktic Nostocales. A putative life-cycle, common for C. raciborskii and R. mediterranea is proposed revealing that trichome reproduction of R. mediterranea gives rise both to R. mediterranea and C. raciborskii non-heterocytous morphotypes. The phylogenetic analysis of partial 16S rRNA gene (ca. 920 bp) of the co-existing Cylindrospermopsis and Raphidiopsis morphotypes revealed only one phylotype which showed 99.54% similarity to R. mediterranea HB2 (China) and 99.19% similarity to C. raciborskii form 1 (Australia). We propose that all morphotypes comprised stages of the life cycle of C. raciborkii whereas R. mediterranea from Lake Kastoria (its type locality) represents non-heterocytous stages of Cylindrospermopsis complex life cycle.     

Taxonomie der gattungchiropteridium gocht (dinophyceae) im rupelium des mainzer beckens (mitteloligozän,SW-Deutschland)

Five morphotypes of the dinoflagellate cyst genusChiropteridium Gocht from Middle Oligocene sediments in the Mainz Basin (SW-Germany) are described. Two of the morphotypes are grouped with the speciesChiropteridium aspinatum and C.lobospmosum. For another morphotype the new speciesChiropteridium brevifolium is proposed.     

Raphidiopsis mediterranea Skuja represents non-heterocytous life-cycle stages of Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii (Woloszynska) Seenayya et Subba Raju in Lake Kastoria (Greece), its type locality: Evidence by morphological and phylogenetic analysis

The taxonomical relationship of Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii and Raphidiopsis mediterranea was studied by morphological and 16S rRNA gene diversity analyses of natural populations from Lake Kastoria, Greece. Samples were obtained during a bloom (23,830 trichomes mL⁻¹) in August 2003. A high diversity of apical cell, trichome, heterocyte and akinete morphology, trichome fragmentation and reproduction was observed. Trichomes were grouped into three dominant morphotypes: the typical and the non-heterocytous morphotype of C. raciborskii and the typical morphotype of R. mediterranea. A morphometric comparison of the dominant morphotypes showed significant differences in mean values of cell and trichome sizes despite the high overlap in the range of the respective size values. Additionally, two new morphotypes representing developmental stages of the species are described while a new mode of reproduction involving a structurally distinct reproductive cell is described for the first time in planktic Nostocales. A putative life-cycle, common for C. raciborskii and R. mediterranea is proposed revealing that trichome reproduction of R. mediterranea gives rise both to R. mediterranea and C. raciborskii non-heterocytous morphotypes. The phylogenetic analysis of partial 16S rRNA gene (ca. 920 bp) of the co-existing Cylindrospermopsis and Raphidiopsis morphotypes revealed only one phylotype which showed 99.54% similarity to R. mediterranea HB2 (China) and 99.19% similarity to C. raciborskii form 1 (Australia). We propose that all morphotypes comprised stages of the life cycle of C. raciborkii whereas R. mediterranea from Lake Kastoria (its type locality) represents non-heterocytous stages of Cylindrospermopsis complex life cycle.     

Two Genetically Distinct Populations of Colletotrichum gloeosporioides Penz. Causing Anthracnose Disease of Yam (Dioscorea spp.)

Variation within Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, the causal agent of yam anthracnose disease, is still poorly defined and this hinders breeding for resistance. Two morphotypes of C. gloeosporioides, designated slow‐growing grey (SGG) and fast‐growing salmon (FGS), are associated with anthracnose disease of yam in Nigeria. The morphotypes are distinguishable based on colony and conidial morphology, growth rate, virulence, as well as vegetative compatibility, but molecular differentiation of SGG and FGS strains is needed to facilitate epidemiological studies. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) of polymerase chain reaction (PCR)‐amplified small subunit (18S) rDNA fragments, and microsatellite‐primed PCR (MP‐PCR) genomic fingerprinting were employed to provide a basis for molecular differentiation of the morphotypes. DGGE analysis revealed patterns that clearly differentiated isolates of the aggressive defoliating SGG from the moderately virulent non‐defoliating FGS strains. Genetic analysis based on 52 MP‐PCR markers revealed highly significant differentiation between the SGG and FGS populations on yam (G_ST = 0.22; Nei's genetic identity = 0.85; θ = 0.28, P < 0.001), indicating that the SGG and FGS morphotypes represent genetically differentiated populations. The results of the molecular typing using DGGE and MP‐PCR analyses were consistent with the disease phenotype caused by the two morphotypes. Consequently, these molecular techniques might be used, at least partly, to replace time‐consuming virulence studies on yam.     

Seasonal Polyphenism and Behavioral Variations of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Ceroplastes glomeratus</Emphasis> Peronti (Hemiptera: Coccidae)

The wax scale Ceroplastes glomeratus Peronti shows seasonal behavioral and phenotypic differences. Individuals develop gregariously during autumn, whereas solitarily in spring. Besides such behavioral differences, spring (“isolated form”) and autumn (“aggregated form”) will also produce different morphotypes. We provide additional data on the morphological data of the species based on the microscopic and macroscopic characteristics of adult females and of first-instars of the two adult morphotypes of C. glomeratus.     

Novel Insight into Neutrophil Immune Responses by Dry Mass Determination of Candida albicans Morphotypes

The common fungal pathogen Candida albicans has the ability to grow as a yeast or as a hypha and can alternate between these morphotypes. The overall biomass of both morphotypes increases with growth. However, only yeasts, but not hyphae, exist as discrete cellular entities. Multiplicity of infection (MOI) is a useful parameter to determine the initial inoculum of yeasts for in vitro infection assays. Since the amount of hyphae is difficult to quantify, comparable starting conditions in such assays cannot be determined accurately for yeasts and hyphae using MOI. To circumvent this problem, we have established a set of correlation coefficients to convert fungal metabolic activity and optical density to dry mass. Using these correlations, we were able to accurately compare ROS production and IL-8 release by polymorphonuclear neutrophils upon infection with equal dry mass amounts of yeast and hyphal morphotypes. Neutrophil responses depended on the initial form of infection, irrespective of C. albicans wild-type yeasts transforming to hyphal growth during the assay. Infection with a high mass of live C. albicans yeasts resulted in lower neutrophil ROS and this decrease stems from efficient ROS detoxification by C. albicans without directly affecting the phagocyte ROS machinery. Moreover, we show that dead C. albicans induces significantly less ROS and IL-8 release than live fungi, but thimerosal-killed C. albicans were still able to detoxify neutrophil ROS. Thus, the dry mass approach presented in this study reveals neutrophil responses to different amounts and morphotypes of C. albicans and serves as a template for studies that aim to identify morphotype-specific responses in a variety of immune cells.     

Intraspecific selective survival within variably uniplicate Late Devonian brachiopods

The central fold of the Late Devonian brachiopods Cyrtospirifer monticola, Cleiothyridina devonica, Rugaltorostrum madisonense, Sinotectirostrum banffense and Trifiodorostellum dunbarense (Three Forks Formation, Central Idaho) varies intraspecifically from nearly rectimarginate or weakly developed to chevron-shaped. Frequency of central fold morphotypes through succesSjve size classes indicates selective survival in favor of variants with a strongly developed central fold, although morphotypes with the most extremely developed central fold never numerically dominate the larger size classes of any species. Differential mortality among the morphotypes can be attributed to: (1) less resistance to shell fracture by morphotypes with weakly developed uniplicae which were preferentially culled out of the population by durophagous predators, (2) less efficiency of weakly uniplicate morphotypes in the generation of nutrient-bearing eddies against the downcurrent inhalant margins. Failure of the morphotypes with the most strongly developed uniplicae to numerically dominate adult (largest) size classes is attributed to the hydrodynamic instability of such shell geometries on current-scoured substrates.     

Comparative chromosome morphology in three Callitrichid genera: Cebuella, Callithrix, and Leontopithecus

A G-band karyotypic analysis was carried out in individual species groups of three Callitrichid primate genera: Cebuella, Callithrix, and Leontopithecus. Within Callithrix, the karyotypes of the morphologically distinct and geographically isolated morphotypes C. jacchus jacchus and C. jacchus penicillata were identical. Within the lion tamarin genus, Leontopithecus, the karyotypes of the three morphotypes (L. rosalia rosalia, L. rosalia chrysomelas and L. rosalia chrysopygus) were also indistinguishable from one another. These results are consistent with the taxonomic designation of subspecies rank to the different morphotypes. A comparison of type specimens among the three Callitrichid genera showed that their phyletic radiation has been paralleled by a limited number of chromosome rearrangements and a relatively high amount of karyotypic invariance. A fusion/fission event has been postulated to account for the difference in diploid number between Cebuella (2n = 44) and the other species (2n = 46). The karyotype of Callithrix jacchus was found to be more directly derived from Cebuella than was that of Leontopithecus. These findings differ from the previous proposition that Leontopithecus might have diverged from a common Callitrichid ancestor before the emergence of the genus Callithrix.     

Genetic isolation among morphotypes in the photosymbiotic didemnid Didemnum molle (Ascidiacea, Tunicata) from the Ryukyus and Taiwan

Didemnum molle, a colonial ascidian that harbors the symbiotic cyanophyte Prochloron spp., is distributed throughout the coral reefs of the Indo-West Pacific Ocean. Several morphotypes of D. molle are characterized by the color and size of their colonies. Previous molecular phylogeny inferred from gene sequences for the cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) identified four morphotypes (i.e., gray, brown, white, and large) from several sites in the Ryukyu Islands, Japan. With the addition of 17 specimens, including another morphotype (small), from several collection sites (Taiwan and the Ryukyus), the present report demonstrates genetic separation among the five morphotypes based on COI sequences. A number of sexually mature specimens of the different morphotypes were collected at the same times and sites, indicating reproductive isolation among morphotypes.