Ein dendroider Graptolith (Ophigraptus hercyniae n. g. n. sp.) von der Unter-/Mitteldevon-Grenze im Harz (Deutschland)

The graptoliteOphigraptus hercyniae n. g. n. sp. has a roughly bilaterally symmetrical, frond-shaped linear rhabdosome with a rounded-zigzag to meandering main stipe, and alternating, typically regularly arranged side-branches with one to three dichotomies.     

Bohemograptus papilio sp. nov. three-dimensionally preserved monograptid (Graptolithina) with an adaptation to retard sinking,from the Upper Silurian Poland

An unexpected new form of Bohemograptus with unusual morphological structure has been found in the upper part of the Bohemograptus praecornutus Biozone, Upper Ludlow of the Mielnik borehole, Poland. Bohemograptus papilio sp. nov. has the characteristic rhabdosome for Bohemograptus, in addition to extraordinary paired latero-dorsal additions, not comparable to any processes typical for Bohemograptus thecal openings. The new structure, a patagium, is located in the proximal part of the rhabdosome, and is built from main rods dividing repeatedly into thinner lists with significant remnants of membranes spread between them. Another new structure is the virgellarium, a membranous addition to the virgella. Membranes of the patagium and virgellarium are not built from microfusellar tissue as additions in other bohemograptids. It is suggested that the membranous additions were orientation devices, constructed to retard the sinking of the colony in the water column.     

Fungi of Delhi I. A new species of the genus Sepedonium link

Summary Sepedonium maheshwarianum Mukerji isolated from Delhi air is described as a new species of the genusSepedonium Link. It differs from all the other existing species in its colony and aleuriospore characters. A short account of some of the existing species has also been given.     

Histochemical observations on the cortical granules in the eggs of Indian lizards

Summary The development, distribution and histochemical nature of cortical granules have been investigated in growing eggs of two species of Indian lizards (Hemidactylus flaviviridis Rüppel and Uromastix hardwickii). Numerous cortical granules develop in the peripheral ooplasm of growing oocytes and are finally arranged in the cortical cytoplasm of the egg. They consist of a carbohydrate-protein complex; most of the carbohydrate component is an acid mucopolysaccharide. The cortical granules in the eggs of lizards have been compared and contrasted to those in Amphioxus, fishes, amphibians, and mammals.     

MORPHOLOGY AND TAXONOMY OF HIMANTOTHALLUS (INCLUDING PHAEOGLOSSUM AND PHYLLOGIGAS), AN ANTARCTIC MEMBER OF THE DESMARESTIALES (PHAEOPHYCEAE)1

The sporophyte of Himantothallus develops according to a closed pattern in which the number and position of the blades is determined by the location of trichothallic meristems in a filamentous germling. Expansion of the miniature juvenile to the massive adult thallus is accomplished by diffuse secondary growth and involves a change from filamentous rhizoids to a hapteroid holdfast, flattening of the stipe, and enormous increases in length, breadth, and thickness of both stipe and blade. The axis usually bears 1–8 lateral blades, often paired, and terminates in a flattened stub. Phaeoglossum is interpreted as a growth form of Himantothallus in which a terminal blade develops to the exclusion of lateral blades, the latter being represented by a single spine. Phyllogigas clearly falls within the morphological spectrum of Himantothallus, the lack of twisting being related to physical factors in the environment. Sporangia, interspersed with an equal or somewhat larger number of two-celled paraphyses, are borne in slightly elevated sori scattered over both surfaces of the blade. Zoospore germination was not observed, nor were gametophytes, either in culture or in the field. Haptera apparently originate from the meristoderm in the lower part of the maturing stipe and lack a filamentous medulla. The mature stipe and the mature blade are anatomically similar, being composed of a superficial meristoderm, a cortex of parenchyma-like cells, and a filamentous medulla. The meristoderm is usually a single layer of plastid-containing cells that divide anticlinally to accommodate (or effect) expansion and periclinally to produce cortical tissue inward. Cortical cells are in radial files and increase in diameter towards the interior. They usually are densely packed with physodes. The medulla is uniquely distinguished by the presence of sheathed trumpet hyphae. Cells of the trumpet hyphae have perforate end walls with callose deposits and probably function in conduction as do the sieve filaments in Laminariales. Sheathing cells are filled with plastids. Sheathing filaments form connections among themselves and with nearby unsheathed filaments. The sheathed trumpet hyphae and their matrix of unsheathed filaments form a plexus, which in the mature blade is flattened and may be stripped intact from the other tissues. Development of the embryonic sporophyte is very similar to that in Desmarestia, as is the anatomy of the adult thallus and the sporangia. From these considerations, Himantothallus is assigned to the Desmarestiaceae (Desmarestiales).     

Microtubules do not control microfibril orientation in a helicoidal cell wall

Summary The secondary cell wall layer of the young root hair ofEquisetum hyemale (L) has a helicoidal texture. The cortical microtubules in these hairs maintain an axial alignment while microfibrils are being deposited with a different orientation in each subsequent layer. The role of cortical microtubules in microfibril orientation is disputed.I gratefully acknowledge the support of Professor Dr. M. M. A.Sassen and the technical assistance of M.Wolters-Arts.     

Sporotrichum carthusio-viride rai & Mukerji,a new species from Indian soils

Summary A new species,Sporotrichum carthusio-viride Rai &Mukerji, isolated from a soil sample collected from Kukrail area, Lucknow, India is described. It differs from other species in its colony colour and conidial measurements. It also forms yeast-like colonies on Wort's agar which produce terminal and inter-calary chlamydospores and budding cells.     

Identification and Characterization of an Aeromonas salmonicida (syn Haemophilus piscium) Strain That Reduces Selenite to Elemental Red Selenium

A bacterium that reduces toxic and mobile selenite to insoluble elemental selenium (Se⁰) was isolated from a laboratory scale permeable reactive biobarrier. Biochemical tests and 16S rRNA gene sequence alignment identified the isolate as Aeromonas salmonicida. Two colony types were isolated, one more resistant to selenite than the other. Both grew on agar plates containing 16 mM selenite, although the colony diameter was reduced to 8% of controls with the small colony type and to 18% with the large colony type. Further study was done with the large colony type. In anaerobic culture, this bacterium was able to use nitrate as a term electron acceptor but not selenate or selenite. In aerobic culture, when no nitrate was present, early log phase cells removed selenite at a rate of 2.6 ± 0.42 μmol SeO₃⁻²/mg protein/day. Reduction was retarded by 25 mM nitrate. Mutants with a diminished ability to reduce selenite to Se⁰ also had a reduced ability to reduce nitrate to nitrous oxide. This bacterium, or perhaps its enzymes or DNA, might be used to remove selenite from contaminated groundwaters.     

Strategies for data analyses in a high resolution 1H NMR based metabolomics study of a mouse model of Batten disease

Using an NMR based approach, employing both solution state and high resolution magic angle spinning (HR MAS) ¹H NMR spectroscopy, in conjunction with an array of statistical methods, we report cerebral metabolic deficits in a mouse model of Batten disease (Cln3 null mutant mice). Batten disease is the most common progressive neurodegenerative disorder of childhood and is caused by mutations in the Cln3 gene. In particular, brain tissue from Cln3 mice was characterised by increased concentrations of glutamine, myo-inositol, scyllo-inositol, aspartate and lactate, alongside decreased concentrations of N-acetyl-l-aspartate (NAA), N-acetyl-l-glutamate (NAG), γ-amino butyric acid (GABA), glutamate and creatine. Accompanying changes in lipid deposition were also detected in intact cortical tissue by HR MAS ¹H NMR spectroscopy. To realise the true potential of metabolomic datasets necessitates a comprehensive analysis of the data, such that useful biological information can be extracted and used to generate hypotheses which can be further tested and refined. We found that using a combination of univariate and multivariate analyses, a maximal number of metabolic deficits were successfully identified. In particular the complementary nature of the statistical approaches allowed the definition of changes which were relative, absolute or simply a change in variance, allowing a greater understanding of the disease processes detected.     

D-Amino acid dehydrogenase of Escherichia coli K12: positive selection of mutants defective in enzyme activity and localization of the structural gene

Summary A method for the positive selection of dadA mutants defective in Dolor-amino acid dehydrogenase has been devised. It consists in isolating mutants resistant to -chroro-Dolor-alanine and screening for mutant colony color on a special agar medium. All 70 Escherichia coli K12 dadA mutants isolated either by this method or by other selection procedures map at a locus which is near to hemA and closely linked with dadR. Since some of the dadA mutants are thermosensitive in Dolor-methionine utilization in vivo and have thermolabile Dolor-amino acid dehydrogenase in vitro, it is proposed that the dadA gene codes for the enzyme structure. The broad substrate specificity, apparent membrane localization, inducibility by alanine, and repressibility by glucose strongly suggest that the Dolor-amino acid dehydrogenase coded by the dadA gene is a species variant of the enzyme described under the same name in Salmonella typhimurium. It may be identical or homologous with the enzymes described under the names alaninase, Dolor-alanine oxidase or Dolor-alanine dehydrogenase in E. coli K12 or B.     

Distribution of free and esterified ergosterols in the medicinal fungus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Ganoderma lucidum</Emphasis>

The fruiting bodies, spores, and lipid from the spores of Ganoderma lucidum have been widely used for medicinal purpose in China. Ergosterol content may be a suitable marker for evaluating the quality of ganoderma spore and ganoderma spore lipid (GSL) products. A gradient reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography method was developed for the simultaneous determination of free and esterified ergosterols in G. lucidum. The contents of free and esterified ergosterols in the different parts (the stipe, pileus, tubes, and spores) of G. lucidum and GSL were determined. The results showed that total ergosterol levels in the stipe, pileus, tubes, and spores of G. lucidum were between 0.8 and 1.6 mg/g. The relative abundances of free to esterified ergosterol were different in the different parts of G. lucidum. The spores and the tubes, the hymenophore tissue that contains the spore-producing cells, have a considerably higher percentage of ergosteryl esters (41.9 and 39.7% of total ergosterol) in comparison with the pileus and stipe tissues (3.6 and 6.2%).     

Facultative parasites and host respiration. I. Healthy tissue adjacent to the site of infection

Summary The respiration, as measured by oxygen uptake, was higher for healthy tissue adjacent to soft rots of apple (var. Bramley) caused byPenicillium expansum Link andThom. andBotrytis cinerea Fr. and of potato tuber (var. Arran Banner) caused byErwinia aroideae Townsend, than tissue at a more distant site. The respiration of tissue adjacent to a physiological rot caused by bruising was not affected. It was concluded that there is diffusion of a substance(s) from the site of infection which causes an increase in the rate of respiration of the adjacent tissue.This work formed part of a Ph. D. thesis submitted to the University of London, July 1961.     

PALAEOECOLOGY OF THE GRAPTOLITHINA, AN EXTINCT CLASS OF THE PHYLUM HEMICHORDATA

1. Whatever heirarchical system of classifying graptolites is adopted, perhaps even raising them to the rank of phylum, the hemichordates including Rhabdopleura and Cephalodiscus remain their closest relatives. 2. Benthonic graptolites preceded and outlasted the planktonic graptolites which exhibited spectacular morphological changes related to a change to a holoplanktonic mode of life and a probable hermaphroditism. 3. The resorption of the narrow-end of the larval skeleton (prosicular cauda) enabled the construction by an outer layer of secreting tissue (extrathecal tissue) of a hollow nema, the dark hollow rod which supported gas-filled tissue and which in turn conferred buoyancy on the colony. 4. The nema provided access to the exterior of the colony for extrathecal tissue which began to strengthen the outside of the prosicular and metasicular parts of the larval skeleton with laminated cortical deposits before the first non-sicular individual of the colony was budded. 5. Attachment of the larval stage in those graptolites having a basal disc or ‘roots’ was by the first-formed extrathecal tissue through a resorbed cauda. 6. Initial attachment of the larval stage in certain encrusting graptolites such as Idiotubus may have been by a larval individual lacking any scleroprotein periderm as a skeletal sheath. 7. After initial attachment the extrathecal tissue continued to secrete additional layers of cortical tissue mostly for the purposes of strengthening the colony. 8. Feeding in graptolites was by ciliated lophophore often positioned so as to take maximum advantage of currents flowing from the dorsal to the ventral side of the colony, for example in Dictyonema and Monograptus. 9. The main function of the nema, particularly of those nemata bearing vanes, was as a support for vacuolated tissue which imparted a holoplanktonic mode of life to planktonic (sensu Zato) graptolites. 10. Attachment of colonies (rhabdosomes) as groups of colonies (synrhabdosomes) was by the extrathecal tissue issuing from the tips of the nemata: such associations were probably sexual rather than for reasons of buoyancy. 11. Attachment of planktonic graptolites to floating algal fronds is an unnecessary hypothesis. Although an undoubted occurrence of graptolites in rocks containing large quantities of carbonaceous matter is beyond dispute, the plant or animal nature of this material has never been established. A symbiotic relationship of planktonic graptolites with a marine, formless alga, perhaps involving the extrathecal tissue, remains a possibility. 12. Although different species may have lived at different depths, the full vertical range of the holoplanktonic graptolites was probably small. The evidence advanced for depth zonation is considered inadequate. 13. Planktonic graptolites were essentially tropical to temperate in distribution with the bulk of the species and individuals in the former environment. 14. Automobility of graptolite rhabdosomes was an unlikely mechanism and does not readily account for the morphology and distribution of the graptolites. 15. Most planktonic graptolites were suspended beneath a nema coated in extrathecal, vacuolated (gas-filled) tissue: changes of position in the water were by passive response to ocean currents. 16. The nature of the graptolite zooid is considered unsolved, although it may have been essentially like that of the extant Rhabdopleura in having paired lophophores. 17. It is possible that a modified pre-oral lobe was capable of secreting both fusellar (inner) and cortical (outer) layers of the periderm. 18. The extrathecal tissue itself would in that case have been derived both from the nemal tube and the thecal individuals.     

The fine structure and cytology of the association between the parasitic red algaHolmsella australis and its red algal hostGracilaria furcellata

Summary Holmsella australis Noble andKraft ms. is a colourless red algal parasite, forming whitish pustules on its photosynthetic red algal host,Gracilaria furcellata Harvey. In the infected region, host cortical tissue continues to grow and enclose the expanding pustule. Filaments of both host and parasite grow apically, the cells being connected by primary pit connections (PCs). Secondary PCs form between cells of the same species, and in addition,H. australis initiates the formation of secondary PCs with cells ofG. furcellata. All three types of secondary PC are morphologically distinct. In hostparasite PCs the surface adjoining the host cell is similar in structure to a host-host PC, while that adjoining the parasite cell has the structure of a parasite-parasite PC. The plasma membrane is continuous between the cells of the unrelated host and parasite. In addition, a cap membrane is typically produced only on the host surface, though occasionally the parasite side is enclosed by a cap membrane as well. Cap membranes are absent from parasite-parasite PCs (making them intracellular), while host-host PCs are typically extracellular, both cells producing cap membranes. The presence or absence of a cap membrane in certain positions appears to vary, and suggests that cells may be able to regulate its presence. Since transport of nutrients would be expected to occur from host to parasite cells, and between parasite cells, the morphological evidence presented here suggests the PCs may be the pathway.     

Use of a polymerase-chain-reaction-amplified DNA probe from Pseudomonas putida to detect d-hydantoinase-producing microorganisms by direct colony hybridization

Pseudomonas putida strain DSM 84 produces N-carbamyl-d-amino acids from the corresponding d-5-monosubstituted hydantoins. The sequence of the d-hydantoinase gene from this strain (GenBank accession number L24157) was used to develop a DNA probe of 122 base pairs (bp) that could detect d-hydantoinase genes in other bacterial genera by DNA and by colony hybridization. Under conditions tolerating 32% mismatch, the probe was specific for all strains that expressed d-hydantoinase activity. These include Pseudomonadaceae of all rRNA groups, and bacteria belonging to the genera Agrobacterium, Serratia, Corynebacterium, and Arthrobacter. Environmental sampling was simulated by screening a mixture of unknown microorganims from commercial inocula for the biodegradation of industrial, municipal and domestic wastes. The 122-bp probe was specific for microorganisms that subsequently demonstrated d-hydantoinase activity. Bacterial species from four different genera were detected, which were Pseudomonas, Klebsiella, Enterobacter, and Enterococcus.     

The fine structure of Psilocybe quebecensis

This work describes the ultrastructural characters ofPsilocybe quebecensis Ola'h &Heim, an hallucinogenic species, the so far known most northernGeophila exhibiting psychodysleptic action.Samplings have been selected on three different parts of the carpophore. Tissues obtained from the gills, central part of the stipe and hyphae below the fruit body of freshly collected carpophores.An accumulation of reserve polysaccharides has been localized in the hyphas of the sub-hymenium and in the mycelium around the stem. We give evidence that two types of pore septum characterise this species. The succession of the sporal tegument of dormant basidiospores and other ultrastructural characters are considered.

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Résumé Le présent travail précise les caractères ultrastructuraux dePsilocybe quebecensis Ola'h &Heim.A cette fin, les prélèvements ont été faits sur des carpophores sauvages fraîchement récoltés. Trois zones de prélèvement ont été désignées sur le carpophore: lame, partie centrale du pied et hyphe aérien coiffant la base du pied. Ce champignon est une espèce hallucinogène, la plus septentrionale desGeophila Quél., la sectionCaerulescentes Sing., posédant une action psychodysleptique évidente. Nous mettons en évidence la localisation des substances de réserve polysaccharidiques dans les hyphes sous-hyméniales et dans le mycélium entourant le pied, ainsi que les deux types depore septum, la succession du tégument sporal ofdormant basidiospore et autres caractères ultrastructuraux.

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Contribution No. 136 of the Faculty of Agriculture, Laval University, Quebec 10. Canada.     

Some supplementary attributes in the classification of chlorococcum species

Summary Seventeen species of the chlorophycean genus Chlorococcum have been studied comparatively in axenic culture with the purpose of exploring the value of certain supplementary attributes in facilitating identification. The algae were cultivated under standard conditions in defined media. Such attributes as colony characteristics, changes in color and cellular morphology with increasing age, inhibition in the light by organic compounds such as acetate, pyruvate and certain pentose sugars, and differential sensitivity to antibiotic agents were studied and found useful in distinguishing the species of the genus Chlorococcum.This paper is dedicated to Professor Dr. E. G. Pringsheim on the occasion of his 80th birthday.The writers acknowledge with gratitude the assistance of Professor R. E. Alston, Mrs. Mildred Austin, Henry Aldrich and T. C. Massey.     

MITOSIS,CYTOKINESIS, AND COLONY FORMATION IN THE GREEN ALGA SORASTRUM1

Synchronous mitotic divisions produce multi-nucleate cells of Sorastrum. Perinuclear envelopes of endoplasmic reticulum and a virtually intact nuclear envelope enclose mitotic nuclei. Cytoplasmic cleavage, which shirts before the last round of Synchronous mitoses, gives rise to uninucleate fragments which differentiate to form zoospores. These zoospores are released into a spherical vesicle, presumably derived from the inner layer of the parental cell wall, in which they swarm actively before aggregating as a spherical colony. The roughly conical shaped zoospores apparently adhere laterally before withdrawing their flagella and extending horns and a stipe, which, following wall deposition, interconnects the cells at the center of the colony. The probable role of the microtubules, which underlie the plasmalemma of aggregating cells, in determining the shape of both the cells and the colony itself is discussed.     

Variations in the alginate content and composition of Durvillaea antarctica and D. willana from southern New Zealand

The brown seaweeds Durvillaea antarctica andD. willana are dominant components of the lowerlittoral and upper sublittoral of exposed rocky shoresin southern New Zealand. Tissue samples of bothspecies, harvested from a site on the south-east coastof South Island over a period of 2 years, wereanalysed for alginate content and composition.Individuals of both species were further separatedinto different blade (lamina and palm) and stipe(cortex and medulla) fractions to assess variationwithin the thallus. On average the alginate contentand frequency of mannuronic acid (F_m) was higherin D. antarctica than in D. willana. Blades contained more alginate than stipes, laminaeand stipes were rich in mannuronic acid whereasholdfasts were rich in guluronic acid. Variations incomposition are considered to reflect the functionaldifferences of the tissue, giving flexibility to bladeand stipe and rigidity to the holdfast. Despitefluctuations in content and composition betweencollection times no seasonal trends in eithercomponent were apparent.     

Il fenomeno della dissociazione in uno stipite di „Mycotorula albicans”

Riassunto L'A., da un ceppo di Mycotorula albicans (ceppo Silvano) ha isolato, in mezzo alle numerose colonie normali liscie, una colonia d'aspetto abnorme, rugoso, verrucoso, che si avvicina alla fase R di Arkwright, in contrapposizione alle S normali. Dallo studio dei caratteri micro-macromorfologici e biochimici, conclude che si tratta di un modico grado di polimorfismo con polimetricismo, la cui conoscenza deve essere ulteriormente approfondita e tenuta in considerazione ai fini di una più esatta collocazione dei miceti lievitiformi anascosporogeni nella classificazione sistematica.

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Summary From a strain of Mycotorula albicans, with colonies of the normal S type, a colony verrucose, rough (allied to the E phase of Artwright) has been obtained. From the comparative study of micro- and macromorphologic characteristics as well of the biochimism of both strains, the main conclusion is that the so called dissociation (on this species) is related to a moderate polymorphism and polymetry of the yeast cells.