Ingestion,Digestion and Assimilation Efficiency of the Sea-Anemone Aiptasia pallida Fed Zooplankton Prey

Ingestion time, digestion time, and assimilation efficiency by the sea anemone Aiptasia pallida were studied in the laboratory by feeding individual anemones preweighed pellets of freeze-dried Artemia salina nauplii. There was no significant correlation between anemone size, measured as dry weight, and either ingestion time, digestion time or assimilation efficiency. Similarly, there was no significant correlation between meal size (i.e., dry weight of ingested brine shrimp pellet) and either ingestion time, digestion time or assimilation efficiency. These results suggest that, under these conditions, assimilation efficiency is unaffected by either “meal” size or anemone size.     

Acquiring nutrients from tree leaves: effects of leaf maturity and development type on a generalist caterpillar

The rapid growth and prolific reproduction of many insect herbivores depend on the efficiencies and rates with which they acquire nutrients from their host plants. However, little is known about how nutrient assimilation efficiencies are affected by leaf maturation or how they vary between plant species. Recent work showed that leaf maturation can greatly decrease the protein assimilation efficiency (PAE) of Lymantria dispar caterpillars on some tree species, but not on species in the willow family (Salicaceae). One trait of many species in the Salicaceae that potentially affects PAE is the continuous (or “indeterminate”) development of leaves throughout the growing season. To improve our understanding of the temporal and developmental patterns of nutrient availability for tree-feeding insects, this study tested two hypotheses: nutrients (protein and carbohydrate) are more efficiently assimilated from immature than mature leaves, and, following leaf maturation, nutrients are more efficiently assimilated from indeterminate than determinate tree species. The nutritional physiology and growth of a generalist caterpillar (L. dispar) were measured on five determinate and five indeterminate tree species while their leaves were immature and again after they were mature. In support of the first hypothesis, caterpillars that fed on immature leaves had significantly higher PAE and carbohydrate assimilation efficiency (CAE), as well as higher protein assimilation rates and growth rates, than larvae that fed on mature leaves. Contrary to the second hypothesis, caterpillars that fed on mature indeterminate tree leaves did not have higher PAE than those that fed on mature determinate leaves, while CAE differed by only 3% between tree development types. Instead, “high-PAE” and “low-PAE” tree species were found across taxonomic and development categories. The results of this study emphasize the importance of physiological mechanisms, such as nutrient assimilation efficiency, to explain the large variation in host plant quality for insect herbivores.     

Assessing Common Bean Cultivars for Resistance to the Soybean Looper <Emphasis Type="Italic">Chrysodeixis includens</Emphasis> (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

The soybean looper Chrysodeixis includens (Walker) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is known as an important pest of leguminous plants worldwide. In Brazil, this pest species is gaining importance to producers of the common bean Phaseolus vulgaris L. (Fabaceae) because it limits field production of the crop. Chemical control is still the primary method of insect control. However, due to the possible harmful effects of pesticides to humans and the environment, alternative and less aggressive practices are being investigated. For this reason, the use of resistant plant genotypes represents a valuable tool in insect control. This study evaluated the biological aspects of larvae of C. includens confined to 14 bean genotypes under laboratory conditions (26 ± 2°C; 65 ± 10% RH; photoperiod of 14 h L:10 h D). The duration of the instars, total duration of the larval phase, consumption while in the larval phase, weight of the fifth instar larvae, larval viability, duration of the pre-pupal and pupal phases, pupal weight, pupal viability, pupal deformity, caterpillar-to-adult cycle, duration of the pre-oviposition and oviposition periods, and total number of viable eggs per female were evaluated. The genotypes “IAC Boreal,” “IAC Harmonia,” and “IAC Formoso” expressed antibiosis, prolonging the caterpillar-to-adult cycle and reducing the larval viability; however, each of these genotypes also experienced high leaf consumption. “IAC Jabola” expressed moderate levels of antibiosis and/or antixenosis (feeding), while the genotype “BRS Horizonte” expressed antixenosis (feeding). The data obtained with IAC Boreal, IAC Harmonia, IAC Formoso, IAC Jabola, and BRS Horizonte are promising and may help with the improvement of programs aimed at managing C. includens damage to this leguminous agricultural crop.     

Biotic Interactions between Two Species of Microalgae in Mixed Culture

Biotic interactions in a mixed culture of two microalgae species—Scenedesmus quadricauda (Turp.) Breb. and Monoraphidium arcuatum (Korsch.) Hind.—used in bioassay in monocultures as test objects were studied. The toxic effect of cell-free filtrates from different “age” monoculture (2, 7, 10, 15, 21, and 28 days) of S. quadricauda on the growth of the “young” test culture of M. arcuatum and, conversely, the toxic effect of cell-free filtrates from the different “age” (2, 7, 10, 15, 21, and 28 days) monoculture of M. arcuatum on the growth of the “young” test culture of S. quadricauda was evaluated. Simultaneously, the toxicity of their own filtrates of different “ages” was monitored by a test culture of each species. The interactions of the species in the mixed culture can be regarded as negative, as an antagonistic one, when both populations inhibit the growth of each other through metabolites and food resource competition, while the effect of S. quadricauda on M. arcuatum is much stronger. The main factor constraining the growth of monoculture S. quadricauda is the rapid depletion of the food resource from the medium and not the inhibition of growth by its own metabolites. The depletion of the food resources from the medium in monoculture of M. arcuatum occurs much later than in monoculture of S. quadricauda. Metabolites of S. quadricauda cause a strong inhibitory effect on the growth of M. arcuatum, and the metabolites of M. arcuatum cause a weak inhibitory effect on the growth of S. quadricauda. The filtrates of the “old” culture of S. quadricauda (21–28 days) cause the greatest inhibitory effect on cell division of M. arcuatum. The filtrates of the “old” culture of S. quadricauda (21–28 days) cause the greatest inhibitory effect on cell division of M. arcuatum. Comparative analysis of the cell number dynamics of two species, S. quadricauda and M. arcuatum, in mono- and two-species algal cultures, as well as experiments with filtrates of these monocultures, showed that the interaction of species can be explained by the food resource competition and allelopathic interaction (exometabolite effect).     

Methane formation and oxidation by prokaryotes

The review deals with systematization and generalization of new information concerning the phylogenetic and functional diversity of prokaryotes involved in the methane cycle. Methane is mostly produced by methanogenic archaea, which are responsible for the terminal stage of organic matter decomposition in a number of anoxic ecotopes. Although phylogeny, physiology, and biochemistry of methanogens have been extensively studied, important discoveries were made recently. Thus, members of deep phylogenetic lineages within the Euryarchaeota phylum (Methanomassiliicoccales, “Candidatus Methanofastidiosa,” “Methanonatronarchaeia”) and even outside it (“Ca. Verstraetearchaeota” and “Ca. Bathyarchaeota”) were reported to carry out methyl-reducing methanogenesis. Moreover, evidence was obtained on aerobic methane production by marine heterotrophic bacteria, which demethylate polysaccharide esters of methylphosphonic acid. Methanotrophic microorganisms oxidize methane both aerobically and anaerobically, decreasing significantly the release of this greenhouse gas into the atmosphere. In the presence of oxygen methane is oxidized by methanotrophic members of Alpha- and Gammaproteobacteria, as well as by Verrucomicrobia. Methanotrophic gammaproteobacteria have been recently revealed in hypoxic and even anoxic environments, where they probably oxidize methane either in a trophic consortium with oxygenic phototrophs and/or methylotrophs or using electron acceptors other than oxygen. Anaerobic methane oxidation has been known for a long time. Sulfat- and nitrate-dependent anaerobic methane oxidation carried out by the ANME archaea via reverse methanogenesis are the best studied processes. While metal-dependent anaerobic methane oxidation is considered possible, the mechanisms and agents responsible for this process have not been reliably identified. Intracellular oxygen production during nitrite-dependent anaerobic methane oxidation was shown for bacteria “Ca. Methylomirabilis oxyfera.” These findings stimulate interest in the processes and microorganisms of the methane cycle.     

microRNA-mediated <Emphasis Type="Italic">R</Emphasis> gene regulation: molecular scabbards for double-edged swords

Plant resistance (R) proteins are immune receptors that recognize pathogen effectors and trigger rapid defense responses, namely effector-triggered immunity. R protein-mediated pathogen resistance is usually race specific. During plant-pathogen coevolution, plant genomes accumulated large numbers of R genes. Even though plant R genes provide important natural resources for breeding disease-resistant crops, their presence in the plant genome comes at a cost. Misregulation of R genes leads to developmental defects, such as stunted growth and reduced fertility. In the past decade, many microRNAs (miRNAs) have been identified to target various R genes in plant genomes. miRNAs reduce R gene levels under normal conditions and allow induction of R gene expression under various stresses. For these reasons, we consider R genes to be double-edged “swords” and miRNAs as molecular “scabbards”. In the present review, we summarize the contributions and potential problems of these “swords” and discuss the features and production of the “scabbards”, as well as the mechanisms used to pull the “sword” from the “scabbard” when needed.     

High-throughput sequencing of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Prunus ferganensis</Emphasis> indicates that it is a geographical population of <Emphasis Type="Italic">P. persica</Emphasis>

Peach belongs to the genus Prunus, which includes Prunus persica and its relative species, P. mira, P. davidiana, P. kansuensis, and P. ferganensis. Of these, P. ferganensis have been classified as a species, subspecies, or geographical population of P. persica. To explore the genetic difference between P. ferganensis and P. persica, high-throughput sequencing was used in different peach accessions belonging to different species. First, low-depth sequencing data of peach accessions belonging to four categories revealed that similarity between P. ferganensis and P. persica was similar to that between P. persica accessions from different geographical populations. Then, to further detect the genomic variation in P. ferganensis, the P. ferganensis accession “Xinjiang Pan Tao 1” and the P. persica accession “Xia Miao 1” were sequenced with high depth, and sequence reads were assembled. The results showed that the collinearity of “Xinjiang Pan Tao 1” with the reference genome “Lovell” was higher than that of “Xia Miao 1” and “Lovell” peach. Additionally, the number of genetic variants, including single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), structural variations (SVs), and the specific genes annotated from unmapped sequence in “Xia Miao 1” was higher than that in “Xinjiang Pan Tao 1” peach. The data showed that there was a close distance between “Xinjiang Pan Tao 1” (P. ferganensis) and reference genome which belong to P. persica, comparing “Xia Miao 1” (P. persica) and reference ones. The results accompany with phylogenetic tree and structure analysis confirmed that P. ferganensis should be considered as a geographic population of P. persica rather than a subspecies or a distinct species. Furthermore, gene ontology analysis was performed using the gene comprising large-effect variation to understand the phenotypic difference between two accessions. The result revealed that the pathways of gene function affected by SVs but SNPs and insertion-deletions markedly differed between the two peach accessions.     

Effects of the maize C<Subscript>4</Subscript> phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (<Emphasis Type="Italic">ZmPEPC</Emphasis>) gene on nitrogen assimilation in transgenic wheat

Nitrogen (N) is the primary limiting factor for crop growth, development, and productivity. Transgenic technology is a straightforward strategy for improving N assimilation in crops. The present study assessed the effects of maize C₄ phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (ZmPEPC) gene overexpression on N assimilation in three independent transgenic lines and wild-type (WT) wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). The transgenic wheat lines depicted ZmPEPC overexpression and higher PEPC enzyme activity relative to that in the WT. The leaves of the transgenic wheat lines subjected to low N treatment showed an increase in ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RuBisCO) expression, content, and carboxylase activity. The transgenic wheat lines also depicted an upregulation of genes associated with the anaplerotic pathway for the TCA cycle, suggesting that more carbon (C) skeleton material is being allocated for N assimilation under low N conditions. Furthermore, ZmPEPC expression in transgenic wheat lines induced the upregulated of genes associated primary N metabolism, including TaNR, TaGS2, TaGOGAT, TaAspAT, and TaASN1. The average total free amino acid content in the transgenic wheat lines was 48.18% higher than that in the WT, and asparagine (Asn), glutamine (Gln), aspartic acid (Asp), and serine (Ser) were also markedly enhanced. In addition, elementary analysis showed that N and C content, and the biomass of the transgenic wheat lines increased with low N treatment. Yield trait analysis indicated that ZmPEPC overexpression improved grain yield by increasing 1000-grain weight. In conclusion, ZmPEPC overexpression in wheat could modulate C metabolism, significantly improve N assimilation, enhances growth, and improves yield under low N conditions.     

Entry of facultative pathogen <Emphasis Type="Italic">Serratia grimesii</Emphasis> into Hela cells. Electron microscopic analysis

Facultative pathogens Serratia grimesii are able to invade eukaryotic cells where they have been found in vacuoles and free in the cytoplasm (Efremova et al., 2001; Bozhokina et al., 2011). However, efficiency of this invasion is low, and the mechanisms of the invasion related to the initial steps of the process are not known. In the present study, we have increased the invasion efficiency by a 24-h-incubation of HeLa cells with N-acetylcysteine (NAC) preceding the infection. In the NAC-pretreated cells, two modes of S. grimesii to enter HeLa cells were observed. In the most cases, the penetration of S. grimesii into the cell was consistent with the “zipper mechanism”, which first step involves specific interaction of bacterial invasin with a host cell surface receptor. However, in some cases, bacteria were trapped by filopodia probably induced by injected bacterial proteins that trigger the bacterial uptake process, as described in the “trigger mechanism” of invasion. To clarify whether two different mechanisms or a predominant one operate during S. grimesii invasion, further elucidation of bacterial and cellular factors involved in the bacteria-host cell interaction should be performed.     

Structure for energy cycle: a unique status of the second law of thermodynamics for living systems

Distinguishing things from beings, or matters from lives, is a fundamental question. Extending E. Schr?dinger's neg-entropy and I. Prigogine's dissipative structure, we propose a chemical kinetic view that the earliest "live" process is embedded essentially in a special interaction between a pair of specific components under a particular, corresponding environmental conditions. The interaction exists as an inter-molecular-force-bond complex(IMFBC) that couples two separate chemical processes: one is the spontaneous formation of the IMFBC driven by a decrease of Gibbs free energy as a dissipative process; while the other is the disassembly of the IMFBC driven thermodynamically by free energy input from the environment. The two chemical processes coupled by the IMFBC originated independently and were considered non-living on Earth, but the IMFBC coupling of the two can be considered as the earliest form of metabolism: the first landmark on the path from things to a being. The dynamic formation and disassembly of the IMFBC, as a composite individual, follows a principle designated as "… structure for energy for structure for energy…", the cycle continues; and for short it will be referred to as "structure for energy cycle". With additional features derived from this starting point, the IMFBC-centered "live" process spontaneously evolved into more complex living organisms with the characteristics currently known.     

The role of visual information in maintaining postural stability after the maximum exercise for the upper and lower limb muscles

The postural stability on a seesaw generating anterior–posterior instability with the eyes open (EO) and then the eyes closed (EC) in young healthy subjects (n = 28) before and 6 min after the maximum bicycle exercise (Wingate test) performed using lower limbs (“leg exercise”) or upper limbs (“hand exercise”) was investigated. It was found that “hand exercise” caused the same increase in average velocity (V, mm/s) and in the average range of sway of the centre of pressure (Qy, mm) as “leg exercise.” However, the duration of V recovery (EC: 2 min 30 s and 50 s; EO: 60 s and 40 s after “leg exercise” and “hand exercise,” respectively) and Qy (EC: 1 min 10 s and 30 s after “leg exercise” and “hand exercise,” respectively; EO: no changes from baseline) was shorter after “hand exercise.” In the presence of visual information, the increment in V decreased more than 2 times after “leg exercise” (+100.5% and + 40.5%, p < 0.01 for EC and EO, respectively) and after “hand exercise” (+73.0% and +30.3%, p < 0.01 for EC and EO, respectively). Moreover, Qy after both exercises remained at the initial level under EO conditions but significantly increased under EC conditions (+42.8%, p < 0.01 after “leg exercise” and +40.3%, p < 0.01 after “hand exercise”). Thus, the maximum exercise for the muscles of the upper limbs causes the same reduction in postural stability as analogous exercise for the muscles of the lower limbs, but the recovery period after “hand” exercise was shorter. The presence of visual information allows the baseline maintenance of postural stability and significantly reduces the strain of postural regulation while standing on a movable support after the maximum “leg exercise” and “hand exercise.”     

Identification and functional characterization of <Emphasis Type="Italic">APRR2</Emphasis> controlling green immature fruit color in cucumber (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Cucumis sativus</Emphasis> L.)

Nitrogen (N) is a macronutrient essential for plant growth and development. Meanwhile, grafting is a method used to alleviate stress tolerance of various biotic and abiotic factors. This study aims to investigate how pumpkin grafting (PG) improves N use efficiency of watermelon. A commercial watermelon cultivar “Zaojia 8424” [Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum. and Nakai.] was self-grafted and then grafted onto pumpkin (Cucurbita maxima?×C. moschata) rootstock cv. Qingyan Zhenmu No. 1. The grafted plants were exposed to two levels of N (9 and 0.2 mM) under hydroponic conditions. The grafted plants were harvested at days 11 and 22 after low N (0.2 mM) treatment. PG improved the N use efficiency of watermelon scion through the vigorous root system of pumpkin rootstock that enhanced the uptake and accumulation of N, P, K, Ca, Mg, B, and Mn in watermelon. Gene expressions of nitrate reductase (Cla002787, Cla002791, and Cla023145) and nitrite reductase (Cla013062) genes were increased, promoting N assimilation. Mesophyll thickness and SPAD index (relative chlorophyll measurement) were also improved. Furthermore, pumpkin rootstock also enhanced the supply of zeatine riboside (ZR) and isopentenyl adenosine (iPA) in the leaves, promoting shoot growth. All these lead to improved plant growth and nitrogen use efficiency of pumpkin rootstock-grafted watermelon plants.     

Letting the Air Out: <Emphasis Type="Italic">Aire</Emphasis> as an Empty Signifier in Oaxacan Understandings of Illness

“Air (aire, also aigre) in the body” is a frequent explanation of illness according to the traditional medical beliefs in Mexico. Anthropologists have generally scrutinized aire in the context of other common folk illnesses treated by traditional healers (curanderas). However, drawing on my research in the communities of Northern Oaxaca I suggest that aire occupies a more distinct position in the folk medical cosmology than it has usually been credited with. This distinction rests on the notion’s exceptional ambivalence and openness to multiple interpretations. “Air” is recurred to as the cause of illness mainly in situations where every other explanation, either “traditional” or “biomedical,” seems to be inadequate. The physical properties of air—its transparency, invisibility, apparent immateriality, near omnipresence, and virtual “nothingness”—render it a suitable explanation of the last resort. Local understandings of what aire “is” are often vague and elusive, and in many respects the term functions in folk medical discourse as an “empty signifier.”     

Behavior of red wood ants (Hymenoptera,Formicidae) during interaction with different symbiont partners

A comparative analysis of the behavior of Formica polyctena Först during interaction with different symbionts (free-living aphids Aphis grossulariae Kalt. and hidden larvae of the sawfly Blasticotoma filiceti Klug) was carried out. Red wood ants demonstrate different levels of functional differentiation in relatively constant groups of foragers collecting honeydew. A deep “professional” specialization with clear division of a number of tasks among foragers was studied in groups of ants tending aphids. Four professional groups of foragers with different tasks were revealed: “shepherds,” “guards,” “transporters,” and “scouts” (or “coordinators”). The groups of foragers caring for sawfly larvae mainly consist of unspecialized ants. Only few ants (about 5%) remain on duty on the fern plant near B. filiceti larvae and protect the food resource from competitors, especially from other ants. In addition, the ants demonstrate simpler behavior while collecting the larval excretion, resembling that at the sugar feeders. On the whole, the behavior of red wood ants is rather flexible. The level of functional differentiation in groups of foragers collecting honeydew is determined not only by the colony size and requirements but by the nature of their interaction with trophobionts, particularly, by the possibility of direct contact.     

In vitro evaluation of the prebiotic effect of red and white grape polyphenolic extracts

Nowadays, the strong relationship between diet and health is well known. Although the primary role of diet is to provide nutrients to fulfill metabolic requirements, the use of foods to improve health and the state of well-being is an idea increasingly accepted by society in the last three decades. During the last years, an important number of scientific advances have been achieved in this field and, although in some situations, it is difficult to establish a distinction between “harmful” and “good” bacteria, experts agree in classifying the genera Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus as beneficial bacteria. Thus, several strategies can be used to stimulate the proliferation of these beneficial intestinal bacteria, being one of them the consumption of prebiotics. The development of new prebiotics, with added functionality, is one of the most serious challenges shared not only by the scientific community but also by the food industry. The objective of this work was to evaluate the potential prebiotic effect of red and white grape residues, both obtained during the winemaking process. For such purpose, an in vitro study with pure cultures of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium was first conducted. Secondly, a study with mixed cultures using human fecal inocula was carried out in a simulator of the distal part of the colon. The obtained results showed an increase in the Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium population, indicating that these ingredients are serious candidates to be considered as prebiotics.     

Digestive enzyme activities and gastrointestinal fermentation in wood-eating catfishes

To determine what capabilities wood-eating and detritivorous catfishes have for the digestion of refractory polysaccharides with the aid of an endosymbiotic microbial community, the pH, redox potentials, concentrations of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), and the activity levels of 14 digestive enzymes were measured along the gastrointestinal (GI) tracts of three wood-eating taxa (Panaque cf. nigrolineatus “Marañon”, Panaque nocturnus, and Hypostomus pyrineusi) and one detritivorous species (Pterygoplichthys disjunctivus) from the family Loricariidae. Negative redox potentials (?600 mV) were observed in the intestinal fluids of the fish, suggesting that fermentative digestion was possible. However, SCFA concentrations were low (<3 mM in any intestinal region), indicating that little GI fermentation occurs in the fishes’ GI tracts. Cellulase and xylanase activities were low (<0.03 U g^?1), and generally decreased distally in the intestine, whereas amylolytic and laminarinase activities were five and two orders of magnitude greater, respectively, than cellulase and xylanase activities, suggesting that the fish more readily digest soluble polysaccharides. Furthermore, the Michaelis–Menten constants (K _m) of the fishes’ β-glucosidase and N-acetyl-β-d-glucosaminidase enzymes were significantly lower than the K _m values of microbial enzymes ingested with their food, further suggesting that the fish efficiently digest soluble components of their detrital diet rather than refractory polysaccharides. Coupled with rapid gut transit and poor cellulose digestibility, the wood-eating catfishes appear to be detritivores reliant on endogenous digestive mechanisms, as are other loricariid catfishes. This stands in contrast to truly “xylivorous” taxa (e.g., beavers, termites), which are reliant on an endosymbiotic community of microorganisms to digest refractory polysaccharides.     

Hypercalcified segmented sponges (“sphinctozoans”) from the Upper Triassic (Norian) reef boulders of Taurus Mountains (southern Turkey)

Upper Triassic Norian reef boulders, exposed in a locality near the fountain “Tavuk Cesme” (“Chicken Fountain”) in Taurus Mountains, southern Turkey yielded a large number of hypercalcified sponges, including “sphinctozoans”, “inozoans”, “spongiomorphids”, and “chaetetids”. The sphinctozoans from this locality are described in this paper. Geologically, this locality belongs to the Anamas-Akseki autochthonous. The reef boulders of this locality are exposed near the “Tavuk Cesme” fountain, located at the road, leading from the town of Aksu to Yenisarbademli. The following taxa are described: Amblysiphonella taurica nov. sp., Anthalythalamia riedeli Senowbari-Daryan, Calabrisiphonella sphaerica nov. sp., Calabrisiphonella cuifi nov. sp., Cinnabaria minima Senowbari-Daryan, Colospongia recta nov. sp., Colospongia sp. 1, Colospongia sp. 2, Colospongia sp. 3, Cryptocoelia compacta nov. sp., Cryptocoelia? sp., Deningeria crassireticulata Senowbari-Daryan, Zühlke, Bechstädt and Flügel, Discosiphonella minima Senowbari-Daryan and Link, Gigantothalamia ovoidalis Senowbari-Daryan, Hajarispongia dipoyrazensis nov. sp., Hajarispongia cortexifera nov. sp., Kashanella irregularis Senowbari-Daryan, Kashanella cylindrica nov. sp., Parauvanella ferdowsensis Senowbari-Daryan, Parastylothalamia cylindrica nov. gen., nov. sp., Asiphothalamia polyosculata nov. gen, nov. sp., Sollasia norica nov. sp., and Thaumastocoelia sphaeroida Senowbari-Daryan. The most abundant sponge is Amblysiphonella taurica nov. sp. followed by Hajarispongia dipoyrazensis nov. sp., Colospongia and Discosiphonella minima Senowbari-Daryan and Link are also relatively abundant. The stylothalamid sponge Parastylothalamia nov. gen. is an abundant sponge genus in other Norian reefs of the Taurus Mountains, but is rare at the “Tavuk Cesme” locality.